When The Wrong One Loves You Right
by HidekoChan90
Summary: When Miroku comes back to Japan for his sister's graduation, he may get more than he bargains for when he falls in love with his best friend, Sango Noriko, who is already engaged to someone else. Warning: Lemons, language, and adult situations
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Sango Noriko sat with her feet dangling over the edge of the park bench. She didn't know why her best friend had told her to meet him there on a Sunday afternoon, but she knew the reasons couldn't have been good.

Miroku Keseki was very vague about the reasons why he wanted her to meet him there. It was a crisp fall day, beautiful with all the colours of the autumn. Sakura petals fell from a tree, coating the park grounds with a blanket of pink.

She heard his footsteps as he approached her. She stood up and walked towards with a smile on her face. "Miroku…"

His face was solemn, yet young and handsome and Sango's good mood quickly faded. "Sit down, Sango."

Sango retreated back to the park bench and he settled beside her. He rubbed his sweaty palms on his jeans and Sango wondered what he was going to tell her.

"Sango, my parents are moving to the states." He said it, it was easier just to come out and tell her instead of skirting around it and making it even harder to tell her. "We're leaving tomorrow."

Sango felt her heart sink and tears come to her eyes. "But…Miroku…"

"Please don't make this any harder than it already is, Sango." Miroku begged. "I don't want to go, but I'm still in high school and I can't stay here without my parents. My dad got the job in New York City and I have to go."

Sango felt a large tear spill down her cheek and he brushed it away with his thumb. He looked at her, his eyes serious. "Don't cry. I promise, I won't forget about you. You're my best friend and it will always be that way." He pulled out a fake, red rose. "Keep this, always. Never forget me."

She looked over at him, and was quite embarrassed that she started crying in front of him, even though he had seen her cry many times before. She knew there was nothing she could do to stop him from leaving. "Promise me, you'll come visit?"

"I promise." Miroku said, forcing a smile. "Please, be happy. I'll write to you every day through email. So check it, Alright?"

"Alright." Sango said, forcing back her tears, which seemed increasingly difficult the more she looked at him.

"Mom told me I only have a little bit of time to come and say goodbye to you. I have to go back home and pack." Miroku said. "I'll call you tonight and before my plane leaves in the morning."

Sango nodded and he brushed her cheek lightly with his fingertips before he turned away, allowing his own tears to come through.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

The phone rang out in the silence of the lonely New York apartment Miroku had made for himself. He flipped off the television and snuffed out his cigarette. Picking up the cordless phone from its cradle he clicked the talk button and stuffed a piece of bread in his mouth. "M'allow?"

"Miroku?" A female voice sounded over the phone, a familiar one at that.

"Who's this?" He asked, swallowing the bread. "I'm not buying anything."

"It's me, you know, you're sister. The one you never call." Amber Keseki's voice had changed quite considerably since the last time he spoke with her, which was when? A whole two years ago.

"Oh! Amber, hey, what's up?" Miroku said, suppressing the urge to pick up another cigarette. He didn't know why he picked up the disgusting habit but whenever one his family members called it gave him to the urge to pick up another one.

"I just wanted to remind you, it's my graduation in a week! Did you get my invitation I sent out?" Amber asked, and she heard him scramble around his apartment, papers crinkling.

"Uh…yea…I…I did." He stammered, trying to buy time as he shuffled through his papers. He heard his sister sigh from the other end of the phone.

"Are you coming or not?" Amber asked. "I haven't seen you since mom and dad left the states two years ago, I miss you."

Miroku found the envelope, his address written in purple gel pen and a Disney princess sticker held it shut. He hadn't bothered to open it and it had been sitting in a pile on his kitchen table for weeks now. He quickly tore it open. "Of course I'll be there, sis. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Good. Then I have something to look forward to." She said, and he could hear her smile over the phone. "I have to go to school now, I have an exam." She said, and Miroku glanced up at his clock.

He had forgotten he was nearly 14 hours behind Japan's time and that made it difficult to talk to his family. In fact the only reason he got the call from his sister tonight was because he had left the hospital early.

Miroku had been dealt an excellent hand in life. He finished high school in the united states, went on to college and studied to be a neurosurgeon, and now was very successful in that line of work.

"Alright, well uh…tell mom and dad I said hey and I love them, alright?"

"Alright. Bye Miroku." Amber said, and then she was gone.

Sighing, he placed the phone back on its cradle. He lit up another cigarette and allowed it to calm his nerves. At least that was his excuse, the tiny cancer sticks calmed his nerves when really all they did was make him jittery and his apartment smell like tar.

But he wasn't going to face the issue right now. The Miss American pageant was on and right now he was enjoying the swimsuit competition. He felt like an old pervert with no life whatsoever, but his last girlfriend broke up with him because he was a work-a-holic. He couldn't seem to stay out of the operating room long enough to develop a life.

But really, where did that leave him? When the television went off, the lights went out and the curtains were pulled, he was stuck in a lonely apartment. He was alone with one bad sleeping disorder and a smoking habit he couldn't seem to kick.

When he finally decided he had enough of the pageant he booted up his computer and decided to kill time and book his flight. He looked at the flight times, then realized how completely miserable he was in his apartment, by himself without his family.

He was the head doctor at the hospital, he could leave early if he wanted to. Hell, he could even leave tomorrow if he felt like it. And the truth was he did feel like it, he hadn't talked to his sister in almost two years and speaking with her on the phone suddenly made him feel homesick.

Maybe that's why he never called home, the familiar sound of his mother's voice made him depressed. The sound of his father's voice made him feel ashamed that he wasn't there with his mother or sister. And the sound of his sister's voice made him feel guilty that he hadn't been the best big brother to her over the past couple of years and he never did so much as even email her.

And Sango's voice… Well, the sound of her voice just broke his heart.

He decided that enough procrastinating and examining things was done for the night and he booked his flight for Tokyo, Japan at 8 o'clock in the morning.

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Airplanes made Miroku nervous and as soon as he stepped off the giant jet he pulled out another cigarette. He wasn't allowed to smoke in the plane which had pissed him off and he was having a nicotine fit. He had already went through one entire pack of gum on the 18 hour flight and by the time he gathered his bags from the conveyer belt he was already on his second cigarette.

He gave his mother a call and told her he had arrived. It was 4:00 in the afternoon in Japan, yet Miroku felt like it was two in the morning. He was drowsy and knew tonight would be an early night for him.

He settled down on the couch, one leg slung over the arm and the other one falling off the side. His suitcase was beside him. Miroku leaned his head back on the arm of the chair and closed his eyes.

He wasn't sure how long he was asleep for but the next thing he knew, he felt a small tap on his leg. Miroku had forgotten where he was for a moment and then he got his bearings. That's right. He was in Tokyo National Airport and a very pretty girl was looking at him.

Miroku sat up and gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry, miss. I fell asleep I'm waiting on my family to--" he wiped his eyes.

The brunette girl giggled at him and playfully slapped him on the knee. "Don't you recognize me, silly?"

"Uh…I…I don't know. Did we sit together on the plane or something?"

The woman sighed. "I didn't think you would recognize me." She said, and by this time Miroku had sat up to peer at her quite interested. He watched her as she pulled out a very withered, fake red rose. "Remember this?"

Miroku searched through the recesses in his mind. He glanced at the flower, than up at her. "No way…" He stood to his feet. "Sango, is that really you?"

"Of course it's me!" Sango exclaimed, grinning. "Do I really look that different?"

"Well, yea, I mean…" He scratched the back of his head. "You've changed." He said, his eyes scanned her body.

"It's been 7 years. Of course I've changed. I'm not 14 anymore." Sango reminded him. "You never came to visit. Not even for my graduation."

"I know…I had my freshman year of college and I didn't want to make a bad impression on the dean." He paused and he knew that wasn't a good excuse. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's alright. That was 3 years ago for me." Sango smiled. "Amber was going to come with us, but she had to do something for graduation rehearsals. I wanted to come and get you."

"Oh?" Miroku asked, rolling his suitcase down the long corridor fallowing her. "And why's that?"

"Like I said, I've missed the living hell out of you." She said as she walked beside him steadily. "You stopped emailing me 3 years ago and I haven't heard one word from you."

"I know." Miroku said, sighing. His craving for another cigarette was starting to mount but he tried his best to ignore it. "I'm sorry, I guess I just got busy with my job and all."

Sango looked at him. "What do you do again?"

"I'm a neurosurgeon." He replied, realizing just how long it had been since he talked to her. Yet, they were talking like old friends as if they had never left each other's side. So, this is what true friendship felt like. This is what home meant.

He was such an idiot.

"Ah, rolling in the big bucks, huh?" Sango asked. "I always thought you'd be a plastic surgeon."

Miroku laughed. "You crack your jokes and you laugh, but you should see the newly restored corvette I have at home. Girls can't keep their hands off of me."

Sango rolled her eyes as they exited the door. "Your mother pulled the car around the front. And I hope you don't mind being cramped."

"Sango, I live in New York city. Of course I don't mind being cramped." He said, as his suitcase bounced across the cracks of the sidewalk. The summer heat was pretty bad, yet there was a nice island breeze. Something he missed about Tokyo. He regretted wearing a suit. Why did he always feel the need to dress in a shirt and tie, couldn't he just loosen up a bit every once in a while?

He spotted the large black BMW that apparently his mother drove. "Wow, mom's got a nice car."

"Yep." Sango replied. Miroku tossed his luggage in the trunk and peered over at Sango as he situated his bags.

"So who else came to pick me up? Amber's in school. Is it dad?"

"No." Sango replied.

Miroku hoisted his second back into the trunk. "Hideko? Man, I miss cousin Hideko, she was fun."

"No." Sango said.

Miroku made a face of disgust. "It's not Hayden is it? That girl had the biggest crush on me in 9th grade."

Sango shook her head with a small smile as she watched him open the passenger seat. His face twisted into an expression of confusion as he laid eyes on the man in the middle seat. "Miroku, this is my fiancé, Howard Bailey."

Miroku was shocked and he extended a hand towards him, and Howard gave him a firm handshake. Fiancé? Was she serious? This guy wasn't near good enough for her, of course, he wasn't either. But still that wasn't the point.

And why was he feeling jealous? These questions and more zipped through his mind as he settled into the BMW. He spent the car ride home, catching up with his mother. He hated the fact his arm brushed Howard's every time they went over a bump in the road. He didn't like the guy, and he was making it obvious by not talking to him.

They arrived back at his mother's house, which wasn't the same one he grew up in as a child, but it still felt like home to him. A small, blue Eclipse sat in the driveway with blue and yellow dice in the window and he knew that car could only belong to his sister Amber.

She was home and he would finally get to see her.

He was more than grateful to get out of the car, any more time spent by Howard's side and he could have screamed. He watched as Sango helped herself into the house and he never thought of Sango to be the type to make herself at home.

Growing up, even though they were constantly over at each other's houses, Sango would always just sit quietly and she never made herself at home in his house. Obviously, his family had gotten close with her even after he left and that made him feel guilty again.

He had missed out on his best friend growing up and blossoming into the beautiful creature she was now. One he was afraid to approach, yet one he felt completely comfortable with. And now she was with this joke of a man who walked around like he owned Japan.

Hell, for all he knew, Howard could have been emperor and he wouldn't know any better because he hadn't spoken to his family or friends in Buddha knows how long! Miroku felt like a horrible person.

He stopped over the threshold of the house and a very happy teenager scampered out from the living room. "Oh my gosh! Miroku!" She attacked him with a hug and he hugged her back, quite surprised.

"Well, hey I missed you, too. But I value my back. Please don't break it." He winked at her as she took a good long look at him.

"Wow. You look tired." Amber told him.

"I am tired." He said, and ruffled her hair with his fingers. "But I'm more than happy to see you."

Amber fixed her hair, giving him an agitated look. "You always do that."

"It's fun." He said grinning. "So, what's been up with you, hm? You didn't get married without me did you? Or…get engaged?" He asked, tossing a glance over at Sango.

It was a cheap shot, but he couldn't resist. He was a little pissed off about it, not at Sango or even at Howard, but at the idea.

"No, just a boyfriend. His name's Nelly. I invited him over for dinner tonight cuz I want him to meet you." Amber said, excitedly.

"Well, I can't wait to meet him, then. As long as he treats you right, big brother won't have to introduce his fists hm?"

"He treats me like a princess." Amber assured him and Miroku smiled.

"Good." He said, patting her on the back. He peered over at Sango. "And you," He said. "you didn't tell me about this guy…"

Howard looked at him and he could sense the jealousy radiating from this guy. Miroku got a weird vibe from him, something about the way he looked out of his eyes didn't settle well with him. Miroku was led into the living room and took a seat in a single-seat recliner and watched as Howard and Sango sat down next to each other.

"I know. I wanted to write to you and tell you, but I figured you wouldn't respond since you never responded to any of our letters or calls." Sango told him, as if to put the blame on him, which it was his fault. He was the one who ignored everyone because he became Mr. hotshot in New York and didn't want to feel the loneliness or become homesick.

"I would have written you. I've just been busy, that's all." Miroku said feeling guilty.

"Well," Sango said, looking over at Howard with a smile. "I just wanted to let you know that me and Howard are getting married in two weeks."

Miroku felt the floor drop out from underneath him. Not in the literal since but more in a shocked, angry, and almost jealous sort of way. He was quiet for a moment as he looked at his best friend and her new fiancé.

Sighing, he ran his fingers through his hair, nervously. He wanted another cigarette, maybe two or three more. "Uh…that's great. Congratulations."

Miroku's mother's voice rang out from the kitchen for Sango to come and help her and she stood up. "You two buys get acquainted, I'm going to go and help with dinner."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Dinner was just about ready when Amber's boyfriend, Nelly, walked through the door. He took an immediate liking towards Miroku and Amber was happy to see that.

Howard had seemed to be part of the family and even Miroku felt like a stranger around his own relatives. He felt awkward and jittery, especially around Howard.

He occupied himself with getting to know his sister's boyfriend, he didn't get a strange vibe from Nelly as he did with Sango's fiancé. He had noticed Howard shooting him looks of disapproval and seemed to become uncomfortable when Sango spoke to him.

Maybe he didn't like him being friends with Sango. Well, Miroku had news for him, that was just too bad. He had been friends with her since he could remember and he wasn't going to stop just because of some jealous boyfriend.

The announcement of the marriage really seemed to bother him and he really didn't have that much of an appetite. He forced himself to eat, he hadn't eaten anything since he left New York almost a day ago, but he didn't want it.

Even when he dad came home that didn't make him feel any better. That just made it worse. The guilt crept back up onto him and seeing Sango and Howard together just made it that much worse.

If he would have come back with his family two years ago, would she have met Howard? Would she be getting married in two weeks? Would she be with him? The last question really stuck in his mind and he politely excused himself from the table.

Miroku stood outside the door, lit up another cigarette and instantly felt better. He knew his mother wouldn't allow him to smoke in the house, and that was alright because he'd rather be alone.

The front door slid open and Miroku pushed himself away from the wall, quickly dropping his cigarette to the ground and smashing it with his shoe. He wasn't ready to admit his smoking habit he picked up in college to anyone, especially Sango.

Her presence was not unwelcome by any means, but he really wished he could have finished that cigarette.

"Hey." Sango said with a smile. "Came out to get some fresh air?"

"Uh…yea."

She walked over next to him and leaned against the house. She gazed up at the stars and had a sudden feeling of déjà vu. It had been so long since they were like this and she had forgotten how good he made her feel.

He was so grown up now, handsome and mysterious. He radiated strength and masculinity and Sango always knew he was going to grow up to be one of the attractive ones.

"They're pretty aren't they?" Miroku asked, nonchalantly. Sango responded with a small nod.

"I remember we used to do this all the time. I missed hanging around with you."

Miroku glanced at her, the nicotine had calmed his nerves down considerably. "Yea, I missed you, too." He smiled and pulled her close to him. "You know, you've grown up to be really beautiful."

Sango looked up at him. "Oh, so I was ugly before?"

"No, I didn't mean it that way. I just…" He paused. "You've just changed a lot, for the better." He added.

She gave him a small smile. "You look exhausted. Why don't you come inside and I'll run you a nice bath?"

The thought of a bath sounded nice. He was very tired and he felt very unclean. He despised being cooped up on that airplane around all of those people. He was somewhat a germi-phobe, and that came from being in a college dorm for four years.

His roommate was very messy, unclean, and Miroku even made a habit of hiding his toothbrush in his pillow so that the guy wouldn't find it and use it. He hated living like that and graduation day had been one of the happiest day of his life.

Of course, meeting up with Sango again was pushing close second

That also caused him to start smoking. The stress of not sleeping and medical school really got to him and he developed the bad habit.

. He waited in the living room, along with Howard who was interested in an American football game on television.

Miroku didn't like the guy, and he didn't mind that he was pointedly being ignored. He sat down on the couch, on the opposite end. He had to face it. It was nobody's fault but his own that Sango had met him. Miroku's the one that left, and stopped contacting her. What was she supposed to do?

"So," Miroku said, drawing out the word as he thought of a conversation starter. "You like football?"

"It's alright." Howard responded.

Miroku noticed his enthralled expression and wondered if it was football he really liked, or just the cheerleaders. Of course, he couldn't say much, that was the real reason he, or any other man, watched football. "I always liked Dallas."

"That's cool." Howard responded.

So much for conversation. Sango walked into the living room and smiled. "I'm glad to see you boys are getting along. I started your bath for you, Miroku."

"Thanks." Miroku said, standing up as she sat down on the middle cushion next to Howard. She watched him as he tiredly made his way into the bathroom, then Howard pulled her attention away.

"So, that's the guy you were telling me about? Your childhood friend?"

"Yes." Sango replied. Howard simply nodded and turned his attention back to the television set, much to Sango's relief. She didn't want to get in a conversation about Miroku. Howard was the jealous type and probably didn't like her being best friends with a guy. Especially an attractive one.

She always knew he would probably grow up to be good looking, but she wasn't expecting him to be that striking. His black hair set off the deep blue of his eyes and Sango had almost gotten lost in them when she saw him at the airport.

Her mind started to wonder and she thought about what he might look like behind the closed door of the bathroom.

Miroku sat in warm water, his arm hanging over the side of the tub. He could have fallen asleep in there if his mind wasn't racing. It wasn't so much that he couldn't relax because he was thinking, it was more of the fact of what he was thinking of that caused him to be restless.

Sango certainly had changed since he could last remember. Her form filled out into a very womanly figure, her face had remained attractive as always, and her hair was longer and smoother than he remembered. He never really remembered looking at her like that as a child, but he could have for all he knew.

It was so long ago.

He washed his hair with his own shampoo that he packed, then dove under water to wash it out. He came back up after a second and pushed his wet hair back from his face. Miroku glanced at himself in the mirror for a minute or two and realized he needed sleep.

He reminded himself he wasn't at home and he needed to wear more than a towel around his waist, so he actually took the time and energy to get dressed. Besides, he needed to go out and smoke again before bed anyway. It calmed him down and helped him sleep.

Miroku walked out and Sango immediately turned her attention away from the football towards him. "Hey." She said, smiling. "Enjoy your bath?"

"Yea. It was great. Thanks." He said, then he glanced at his watch. It was pretty late and Sango was still here? Not that he minded, but he remembered when his mother had a strict "no member of the opposite sex in the house after 10 o'clock" policy, with the exception of Amber of course.

Miroku quietly stepped outside, finished up a cigarette quickly and came back in. His nerves were calm now and he could even handle the sight of Howard. He didn't understand why he despised him so much, but the mere sight of him made his stomach sick.

"Goodnight, Sango. I'm going to go and get some sleep."

"Alright." Sango said, with a small smile. "I fixed up the guest bedroom for you."

"Thanks." Miroku said, with a lingering look. For one small instance they shared something. Maybe it was an old understanding of friendship and the plutonic love that they had for each other. Or maybe it was something more, something more passionate and intimate.

Whatever it was, it seemed to have pissed Howard off. Sango watched as her fiancé made his way into their shared bedroom, without even so much as a goodnight to her. It was obvious he didn't like Miroku there, and Sango wondered if she should even bother sleeping in there tonight.

She better act like nothing was wrong, or Mrs. Keseki would surely be asking questions out of concern. She felt drowsy and decided she would head off to bed.

Howard would be over it by morning after a good night's rest.

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A loud knock awakened Miroku from his slumber and he was disappointed to see daylight. He was so exhausted he had slept for nearly 14 hours, yet he felt like he hadn't slept at all.

He shifted around in his bed, trying to ignore the knocking until it happened again, and this time it was accompanied by Amber's voice.

"Miroku, it's almost noon. You've been asleep since I left for you school." She said.

He sighed and pushed himself out of bed. Alright so it might have been time to wake up, but that also meant he could spend time with his family, and Sango. Which, he wondered if she even went home last night.

He opened up the door, now dressed in a pair of loose jeans and a tank top. A down-grade from what he was dressed in yesterday, and he felt more comfortable. He was pleased to see that Sango was sitting at the table, without Howard.

Her face immediately lit up when she saw him and she looked away from her magazine she was reading. "Hey, sleepy-head."

Miroku tried his best to comb down his hair at her comment and she simply laughed. "Are you hungry?"

"Uh, yea, actually. Whatcha got?" He asked, as he watched her walk about the kitchen. She knew where everything was, and he knew she must have spent a lot of time here with his family. It was almost as if she lived there.

"Do you still like your rice extra chewy?" She asked, smiling.

"Wow. You remember that?" Miroku was surprised she would have remembered such a small detail.

Sango simply nodded and turned on the rice cooker. "What else would you like?"

Miroku leaned back in his chair and he saw her in a completely different light then what he used to. "Well, I never had a woman take care of me like this before."

"Don't get used to it, I'm only doing it because you're a guest." Sango said. "How's instant ramen sound?"

Miroku nodded his approval, and then her words sank in. "Wait a minute," he spoke up. "Aren't _you_ a guest too??

She stopped in her tracks and peered at him for a minute than turned away. "Oh, that's right…you didn't know."

"Didn't know what?" Miroku asked, sitting up in his chair. He studied the side of her face, it was serious and straight as she continued to cook for him, as a wife would do for her husband.

She didn't speak from the time it took her to dish out his food onto a plate, to the time it took her to bring that plate to him. Then she settled down at the table, in the chair beside him.

He was grateful for the food, but he was curious as to what he didn't know. He took a bite of rice and looked at her. "What don't I know?" he asked.

"I live here now…" Sango told him, quietly.

"You do?" Miroku asked. "Wow. Well, why? I mean, if you don't mind me asking…"

Sango began to pick apart a napkin laying on the table as she spoke. "My family died right after I graduated high school. Mom, dad, and Kohaku took a trip to Hawaii and on their way back to Japan all of the engines failed, the plane blew up and no one survived."

Miroku dropped his chopsticks, shocked. "Sango, I'm…sorry…I didn't know."

"Don't apologize. Your mother has been the most help to me. Your parents took me in without a second thought." She said, forcing a smile.

"Wow. Well, this is a shocker." He said, leaning. He could tell Sango didn't like talking about it, and he wanted a change of subject himself. "So, uh…how did you meet Howard?"

Sango smiled, and looked away. "The internet. We met on a dating site."

"Ah, well, how 21st century of you." He said, smiling. "I was on one of those. Met a few girls, no one special though."

"What's it like in New York?" Sango asked, suddenly becoming interested.

Miroku chewed his rice thoughtfully. "It's alright. It's kind of like Tokyo, but with a lot more assholes. The foods delicious, though. The best Italian food on the planet."

"I've always wanted to go. Anywhere in the states for that matter." Sango told him. "If Howard would ever let me, I would want to come and visit you out there."

Miroku took a sip of his drink. "You don't think Howard would let you come with me?"

"Are you kidding?" Sango asked. "He won't even let me say Hello to another guy without getting mad."

Miroku grinned slyly. "Yea, but I'm not just another guy. I'm your best friend."

"I know. But he really does get angry.

"By the way, speaking of him…" Miroku said, looking around. "Where is he at?"

"He had a meeting in Kyoto, he'll be gone all day. He left about 2 hours ago." She said.

Miroku pushed his empty plate away and took her by the hands. "Well, he's away. Maybe we can get better acquainted, hm?"

Sango peered up at him, quite surprised by his closeness. She was speechless as she stared into his icy blue eyes.

"I've missed you." Miroku said. "In more ways than one…"

She shivered from the look in his eyes. "Uhm…I better get started on the dishes."

"You need any help?" Miroku asked, standing up. He fallowed her to the sink, his hands in his pockets.

Sango turned on the water, squeezed soap into the sink and shook her head. "No, I can do this on my own." She protested, but he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Let me help…" His voice was smooth and enticing, something about it made her quiver and she enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her. His strong, masculine voice was lowered an octave and his breath tickled her neck.

"Miroku…what are you doing?" She asked, dropping a plate back into the soapy water.

He chuckled softly into her ear. "I'm trying to help you with the dishes."

"I told you, I don't need any help." She said, not feeling comfortable with the fact she was quite comfortable with his closeness. It was strange how 7 years and 200,000 miles can change a person's perspective on a man.

Sango went from seeing Miroku as a boy who was her best friend, to a man who could easily be her lover. She shifted her position in front of him, and he reached his arms around her.

"At least let me help you dry them." Miroku said, grabbing a towel. "Mom never did believe in dishwashers."

Sango hesitated, and Miroku couldn't figure out why she was so skittish about letting him help her with the dishes. Did his closeness really bother her that much after years of being best friends?

Did he really change that much? Did he come off as cocky or snobby because of his job? Maybe he gave off an air that he thought he better than everyone else. Or maybe his job had given a prestige he didn't know about.

Miroku dried a plate carefully and silently. "You alright?"

"I'm fine why do you ask?" Sango queried, he could sense the agitation in her voice.

He shrugged and dried another plate. "You just seem angry, that's all."

"Well, don't you think I'd have the right to be?" Something inside her finally snapped and she completely disregarded the dishes.

Miroku slowly put the clean plate onto the drying rack as if he was afraid to make a move. "What do you mean?"

Sango threw her hands up in the air. "Oh, as if you didn't know! My best friend ignores me for three years, then comes back here and--"

"Sango."

"What?" She asked, quickly realizing what she had done and hid her hands behind her back.

"What was that on your arm?" He asked.

"Nothing…" Sango said, pulling down her sleeves. "It's nothing."

"I saw bruises on your arm. Let me look." He reached for her arm and she wrestled herself away from him.

"You're imagining things." Sango told him, walking backwards from him. He quickly reached out and tugged on her arms, rolling her sleeves before she had the chance to get away.

He saw three, dark oblong rings on her arm as if someone had squeezed her arm and bruised her. "Sango, what the hell is this?"

Sango felt the lump rise in her throat and she tore away from him. "Let go." She yanked down her sleeve and folded her arms.

"Is Howard doing this to you?" Miroku asked, pulling her towards him. "Sango, you better tell me the truth!"

Sango turned from him. "It's none of your business!"

"It is my business!" Miroku protested, he was about to lose his temper which he rarely did, but it seems ever since he had the pleasure of becoming a doctor his nerves could only handle less and less. And seeing his best friend hurt was really the straw the broke the camel's back. "I care about you, Sango. I don't want to see you hurt!"

"Why do you even care, Miroku? You've been gone for years! You're the one who stopped responding to my emails and my phone calls!" She stomped away from him and slammed her bedroom door before he could stop her.

"Sango, c'mon, don't do this. I just want to talk." He said, standing by her bedroom door, but it was silent within. His temper flared again and he slapped both hands on her door. "Fine! You want to be with someone who abuses you like that? Then you go right ahead! I don't care!"

Miroku stomped through the living room and into the kitchen. He slammed the front door hard and pulled out another cigarette. He lit it up and allowed it to calm his nerves again. This fight with her was just another excuse to smoke, and he felt guilty about what he had said.

A couple hours and she'd calm down, then they would be alright. Or at least he hoped. He just wasn't sure how he was going to react when Howard Bailey came home from one his "business trips" tonight. Miroku wasn't sure if he was capable of keeping the peace with him after what he saw.

But first things first, and that's keeping the peace with Sango. Amber's graduation was tomorrow afternoon and he didn't want his entire family fighting with him.

He was so confused, he didn't even know what to do anymore, except smoke another cigarette.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 3_

_Dinner passed awkwardly and Miroku had opted to bring his food into the guest bedroom where he was staying. His mother usually didn't let him do such things, as she saw the importance of family togetherness, but he was a grown man now and he could do what he wanted._

_He was watching Jeopardy, the Japanese version, mindlessly as he ate his dinner. Sukiyaki and rice was his idea for a great dinner, especially the particular way Sango had cooked it, but he couldn't eat in peace while Howard was sitting there._

_Miroku knew his family was probably wondering why, and talking amongst themselves, about why he wasn't in there joining them._

_But Sango knew. He had seen the bruises on her arm and he knew exactly who caused them. She hadn't been able to face him for the rest of the day and she was sweating bullets that their would be a fight. _

_So she didn't protest his request to stay in his room. It was best for the tranquility of the house, and Howard had no idea Miroku had seen it, though he wasn't oblivious to Miroku's oh-so obvious dislike. He had noticed that when he arrived._

_The bedroom door opened, and Miroku emerged with an empty plate. His chest was puffed out as he entered the kitchen, he tried to appear more solid then he really was and Sango could feel the tension in the room. She kept her arms hidden from sight as if not to remind Miroku of what he had seen, as if he'd forget._

_Miroku put his plate in the sink, refilled his cup with iced tea and shuffled back into his room. He gave Sango a glance filled with worry as he passed by her, and his tried his best to keep his eyes off of Howard. If he even so much as looked at him right now there was no telling what would happen to his temper._

_Amber watched as he closed the door behind him. She sat down her chopsticks and excused herself from the table. "Miroku?" She asked, knocking. "Is everything alright?"_

_Miroku rolled his eyes, muted the television and replied. "I'm fine."_

"_You seem mad. Can I come in?"_

_He sighed and rolled off his bed, opening the door for Amber to come in. "What?"_

_Amber shut the door behind her and he suddenly felt like he was 14 again, trying to keep his 10 year old sister out of his hair. "Did you and Sango-chan have a fight?"_

"_No." Miroku lied, taking the mute off the television. It was a sign that he wanted to be left alone and he didn't want to share any information with her. _

"_Oh, well, what's going on then?" She asked. "I was really looking forward to having dinner with my favourite brother tonight."_

_Miroku chuckled and ruffled her hair. "I'm your only brother."_

_Amber smoothed out her hair. "Don't change the subject, smartass."_

_He sighed and looked at her. "Look, me and Sango are fine. I'm just…not too big of a fan of her fiancé."_

"_Oooh!" Amber exclaimed, teasingly. "You jealous?"_

_Miroku tweaked his sister's nose to get her to stop teasing him. "It's not like that."_

"_Sure it's not. Why else wouldn't you like Howard? He's totally awesome." Amber exclaimed. "You know, since you left, Sango's been like my big sister and Howard spends a lot of time with me."_

_Miroku looked at her in disbelief. "Amber, have you noticed the marks he leaves on Sango?"_

"_Marks? You mean besides hickeys?" _

_Miroku felt jealousy rip through him. "Yes! Besides hickeys. Have you seen her arms?"_

"_No." Amber said, clueless. "Why?"_

"_She had bruises on her arms. I saw them today when we were washing dishes. Amber, if I go in that kitchen, I'm going to kill that guy and then Sango will hate me forever."_

_Amber sighed and sat down on his bed. "Howard's not abusive. He loves Sango, she must have gotten them from somewhere else."_

"_From who, Amber? Kirara?" Miroku asked, sarcastically, referring to Sango's tiny, two-tailed cream colored cat. _

"_I don't know, but it wasn't from Howard." Amber said. "Sango's a bit of a klutz, maybe she fell." _

_Miroku rolled his eyes. "Look, Amber, I don't want to argue about this. And until I have proof Howard Bailey didn't touch my best friend, I hate the guy."_

"_Alright. Well, mom's got apple pie. I'll tell her to leave you a piece."_

_Miroku sighed and turned his attention back to the television. "Thanks."_

_***********************************************************************************_

_Another soft knock came to the door and Miroku didn't bother to look away from the action film he was watching. Sometimes it just felt good to sit around and do nothing, it sure was a nice change from the hustle of the medical world._

"_Come in."_

_His door squeaked open and the thin silhouette entered the room. He was relieved, yet pained to see her. He'd have to come forth to her about his concerns and they would probably end up fighting again._

"_Hey." She said weakly, taking a seat on the edge of his best. _

"_Hey." Miroku said, softly. The room was cast in a blue hue and Sango noticed just how handsome his features were. He wore a serious, hard look on his face and she knew what he was angry about._

"_I'm sorry I blew up like that earlier." Sango apologized, sitting on the edge of his bed, her hands folded in her lap. _

"_Don't be. I crossed the line into your personal life." _

"_You only did it to protect me. I've had all day to think about it and I was wrong." Sango admitted. "You only did it because you care about me."_

"_Sango, tell me the truth. Is he hurting you?" Miroku asked, losing interest in the movie._

_She opened her mouth to answer him, but quickly shut it. Miroku didn't like her hesitation, but he stayed calm as he reached his hand up to cup her cheek. "Hey, look at me, you can tell me anything." He said, his eyes shimmered with kindness._

_Sango didn't know what came over her at the moment, but she leaned forward and kissed him very softly. Miroku was shocked but returned her kiss because he really didn't know what else to do. _

_She pulled away very quickly, her heart raced as she stared back at him in disbelief._

_Miroku sat up straight, his back against his pillow. Never in a million years would he have thought kissing Sango would be that invigorating. "Wow." That was all he could muster._

_Sango stood up. "I have to go."_

"_Wait!" He exclaimed, grabbing her hand. "You never answered my question."_

_Sango stopped, and turned her gaze away from him. Her lips were still tingling from that kiss and she couldn't lie to the man she had just kissed, or the man who was also her best friend. "He did. But on accident, we were playing around and he grabbed me too hard."_

_Miroku gazed at the side of her face. If she was lying, she was damn good at it and then he darkly realized maybe she had a lot of practice. A lot of practice lying to his mother, his father and his sister. But he didn't want to analyze it anymore, he had a hard enough time trying to analyze the fact that she kissed him._

_And he enjoyed it. Very much._

"_Alright." He said, letting go of her hand. She placed her hand on his doorknob but he stopped her again. "By the way…" he said._

_She turned to face him, sensing the smile and arrogance in his voice. She was glad to see her bought her story. "Yes?"_

"_I want to do that again sometime."_

_***********************************************************************************_

_Miroku sat uncomfortably in the seating part of the arena, along with the rest of his family members. He had spent most of the time catching up with Hideko, his cousin who had graduated just a year before._

_He wished he could have came back for hers, but he was swamped with surgeries all that week and barely had time to breath. He did, however, send her a card with 4,000 yen and Hideko didn't seem to bear any grudge towards him. She waved down at Amber from the stands, as she walked out with her classmates and Miroku smiled at her family._

_She was glad to see they were all there, especially Miroku because she wasn't sure he was coming or not. _

_Sango sat next to Hideko awkwardly, and Howard took his place beside her. Miroku's foot began tapping and he wished he would have had the chance to smoke before he came in there. His mother placed her hand on his knee as if to quiet down his nervous habit, but it only worked for a whole 6 seconds. _

_Hideko giggled and blew a kiss down to her boyfriend, who was a high school English teacher. They had met when she was at the tender age of 15, but their attraction was anything but to ignore and as soon as Hideko graduated herself he asked her out on an official date, and they had been dating ever since._

_Inu Yasha pushed his way by people's legs, dragging his fiancée, Kagome, behind him. Kagome apologized for Inu Yasha's rudeness as she sat down. The white-haired guy slapped a hand on Miroku's solid shoulder and gave him a welcome home grin. "Yo, it's been a minute. Wow don't you look nice in a suit."_

_Miroku smiled and straightened his tie. He felt quite distinguished and he enjoyed the fact that a shirt and tie just made him look that much more appealing. "Thanks. I missed you, cuz."_

_Hideko peered over at Inu Yasha, her older brother and snatched away his camera. "I want to take some pictures of Nelly and Amber! Oh! And Kris, too!"_

_Inu Yasha rolled his eyes in disgust. He didn't like his younger sister's new boyfriend, he thought he was nothing but a pervert who went over younger girls, even though the very handsome English teacher was only in his late twenties. "Don't break it."_

_Hideko simply waved him off._

_Yes, this was definitely his family, Miroku thought. Hideko and Inu Yasha bickering with each other, like siblings do, as Kagome sits idly by and makes sure they don't rip each other apart._

_His mother was snapping pictures like crazy, even got a quick shot of Miroku's shoe in one of them. How that happened he didn't have the slightest clue._

_And then there was Sango, who he had always considered family until last night. Last time he checked, family members didn't kiss other family members. But he had genuinely enjoyed it, but now he was a little disappointed. _

_Sango tried her best to forget what happened last night between her a Miroku. Her emotions were high and she wasn't thinking straight and she shouldn't have done that. But that still didn't change the fact that she had enjoyed it. _

_Miroku was a little ticked off though, here she was, just hours later, sitting next to that scumbag she called a potential husband as if nothing had happened between them last night._

_The graduation ceremony began and Miroku remembered just how boring his had been back in the states. It didn't change much for country to country. The school Amber was graduating from would have been the same one he would have graduated from if he would have stayed in Japan._

_The thought depressed him. He and Sango met in a 6__th__ grade health class in Jr. High and were friends ever since. She had always been there for him, and he was always there for her, up until a certain point when he suddenly felt he was too good to come back and see his family._

_Miroku had a problem with this type of thing. He had the habit of berating himself until the point where he needed another cigarette to calm his nerves, and just at the worst time to. There was no way he was going to be able to stand up and go outside for a smoke without his mother getting angry with him._

_But he had to have it, he would be back in time to see Amber graduate if he hurried. He stood up and pushed his way through the crowded aisles. He quickly ran outside, lit up a cigarette and immediately felt better. _

_He was only going to take a few drags then he was going to go back inside. He knew his mother was already wondering where the hell he went and he got proof of that when Sango stepped outside, without his knowledge._

"_Miroku."_

"_Ah!" Miroku screamed, burned his hand on his cigarette, and then dropped it. "Sango!"_

"_Miroku, are you smoking?" Sango asked in disbelief. _

_Miroku mashed the cigarette butt with his shoe and dragged it across the sidewalk, leaving a streak of black. "Uh…I…I only do it when I'm nervous."_

"_Why are you nervous?" Sango asked. "Does it have anything to do with last night?"_

"_Last night? Oh! Yes. Last night." Miroku stumbled over his words and he wondered when he became so nervous he could barely talk. "No."_

_Sango looked away. So she didn't have any affect on him at all? She wanted a change of subject suddenly. "You know, you shouldn't smoke. It's not healthy."_

"_Hey, Sango, I'm a doctor. I know that." Miroku said, looking at her. _

"_It's a bad habit and you need to stop." Sango told him._

_Miroku sighed. "Sango, I don't need you to tell me how to live my life, alright?"_

"_Oh, really? Well, I don't need you to tell me how to live mine then, either." Sango told him. "I'm perfectly happy."_

"_Oh, yea? Well then why did you kiss me? You can't be too happy if you did that. You wouldn't want to jeopardize your relationship with Howard, now would you?" Miroku said, his voice was laden was sarcasm and that really set Sango off. _

_Sango didn't know how to come back from that. "Miroku, your sister's about to graduate and your going to miss it."_

_Miroku twitched nervously. "Don't change the subject on me." He said. "I want to know why you kissed me last night."_

"_It was…a mistake." Sango stammered, he was drawing closer to her and she felt her heart start to race._

_He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a strong, embrace. His large hands rested on her hips, his eyes met hers and he just stared. "Oh really? Well, tell me something…is this a mistake?"_

_Miroku leaned in and kissed her softly. His lips barely brushed hers but it sent such a warm feeling through him. The next thing he knew he had pushed her against the wall and his tongue was begging for her to allow him in._

_She wrapped her arms around his neck and she enjoyed the feeling of his hands traveling all over her body. She opened her mouth and allowed him to taste her for the first time. Sango ran her fingers through his dark hair and he let out a low moan in the back of his throat and moved his hand up to cup her face._

_Sango slowly reached her hand up and pulled his hand down, then sharply pulled away. Realization came flooding in when she realized what had just happened, yet again. "Miroku! Get your hands off me!"_

_Miroku watched her as she pulled herself away from the wall and began to scuttle her way back towards the building. "Hey! Sango! What are you doing? I thought you were enjoying that!"_

_She pivoted on her foot to face him. "I'm going back into the building so that I don't miss Amber graduating. Unlike you, I actually care about my family."_

_Miroku scowled at her, and grabbed her hand. "I care about my family too."_

"_Let go." She said, jerking her arm away. The movement caused her to hiss in pain at the already bruised area. _

_Miroku let her go and he fallowed closely, but no too close, behind her. She was obviously mad, and most definitely confused. One minute she was kissing him senseless and the next minute she was throwing an attitude with him. She confused the hell out of him, but for some reason he wanted more._

_He liked this side of his best friend. In fact, he liked everything about her. Her taste, her texture, the way her lips felt against his, the way her fingers felt in his hair. The way her hips twitched when she stalked off from him like that. She had grown into a beautiful young woman and she deserved better than Howard Bailey._

_Miroku wasn't even sure if he was a good enough man for her, or if there was any man on this entire globe that was good enough for her, but one thing was for certain._

_He was going to try._


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 4_

_Miroku sat back down next to Hideko and Sango had traded places with Neyo, so she could sit on the other side of Howard. She wanted be far away from Miroku as possible._

_What they were doing had to stop, and she was already telling herself mentally that it couldn't happen again._

_Miroku was relieved to see that they were only at the G's when he sat down. He hadn't missed Amber, or her boyfriend for that matter. He sighed with relief has he settled down in the chair. That cigarette didn't do shit for his nerves, he was still shaking. Or maybe that was because he just kissed his best friend. Again. _

_When Amber walked across the stage to get her diploma, Miroku clapped and shouted, mostly just to embarrass her the best way he could. She simply grinned up at him as she took her seat again. _

_A loud, midi-file ring suddenly went off and Miroku scrambled for his phone. He could have sworn he turned it off. He pulled out his sleek-looking phone only to discover that it was indeed turned off and he looked over to see Howard exchanging some words over the phone. _

_Sango glanced at her fiancé. "You are supposed to turn that off!"_

_He held up a finger at her, and nodded. "Yes. OK. I'll be there. Bye." He clicked it off. "I have to go."_

_She watched him. stand up and he pushed his way past Miroku, the two exchanged looks of disdain. "Howard…"_

"_I'll call you when I get to Chicago, my flight leaves in an hour. I have to hurry, baby. Love you." Howard rushed off before Sango could say another word and her eyes met Miroku's for a brief instant, then she turned away. He leaned back in his chair. Ah, so Howard was going to be in Chicago for a while. Good news for him. Miroku immediately felt himself relaxing at that thread of information._

_The ceremony seemed to pass by rather quickly after Howard had left and before he knew it was over. Thank Buddha for that because he was beginning to get bored and he wanted another cigarette. Plus, he wanted a chance to speak with Sango._

_Miroku faced a very uncomfortable ride to the restaurant Amber had picked out. Sango kept her gaze out the window the entire time and Miroku decided not to push it right now. _

_He walked into the restaurant, feeling a bit out of place. When was the last time he had gone to dinner with his family? Nelly had chose to spend his graduation day with Amber, and she even had met up with some of her friends from school, who of course were looking at him and giggling. _

_Dinner had passed by quite awkwardly and Miroku spent most of his time humoring his sister's friends, some were even bold enough to flirt with him. Sango had displayed little jealousy, but then again she probably didn't see the flock of just barely legal girls as a threat._

_Not that she was worried about what Miroku did. She was getting married very soon and Miroku didn't matter to her. She really didn't even care if he stayed for the wedding or not. _

_Miroku had turned into an egomaniac over the past 7 years. He was cute, funny and charming and he knew it. He certainly wasn't the same person she used to know, he was neurotic to a point. He always seemed to be on edge, yet he still managed to put on a front as if he didn't care about anything._

_Such as her relationship with Howard. He just waltzed right in, takes control of her emotions and doesn't even blink. How did he manage to do that? And why was she staring at him? She was admiring his face, his hair, even the way he chewed._

_What was wrong with her?_

_He even started to playfully flirt with one of Amber's newly graduated friends, who went by the name of Raven. The young girl was obviously enjoying his attention and for some reason Sango felt like slapping both of them._

_Maybe it was because she was angry over the fact that Howard had left so abruptly like he had. She really hoped he'd be back in time for the wedding, then again her world had been so upside down since Miroku came back, she wasn't even sure how she felt anymore._

_She always thought since 12 grade that Howard was the love of her life. The one she was going to marry and have children for. But then, Miroku came back and all of that changed. She had a new yearning inside. It was hotter and more passionate then ever, though she would never admit that out loud._

_Those feelings only haunted the recesses of her mind, she would never admit them to anyone but herself. _

_Sango had barely eaten anything by the time dinner was over. And why was that? Because she was too busy dreaming about her best friend? She was too busy dreaming about the way his body would feel on hers, or the feel of his lips on her skin. _

_She stood up and gathered her purse. She wasn't that hungry anyway and she really just wanted to get home. Being out in public like this was getting to her, being around Miroku like this was getting to her as well. _

_Once they got home, Miroku found it strange that Sango quickly retreated to her bedroom. Not that that was unusual for her, she had done that when she was mad and angry with him just a day before, but he hadn't done anything this time, except kiss her. Maybe she was angry at him about that. _

_Amber, Hideko and her very flirtatious friend, Raven were in the living room together. Miroku walked through the living room backwards just to get to his room so he could avoid Raven's constant stare on his backside. Of course, that didn't stop her from looking at other things._

_Miroku quickly closed the door, grateful that ever part of his body was now concealed from her. She was kind of creepy and maybe she took his flirting a bit too seriously. He really needed to learn to stop flirting with girls he really didn't like because it pushed the one girl he really did like away from him._

_Maybe that's why Sango locked herself up in her room like she had. He knew she had felt something when she kissed him, he could tell by the way she had run off from him earlier. He clicked on his television, trying to drown out the sounds of the giggling girls in the living room. He even heard his name mentioned a few times and muted the sound of his TV just out of curiosity._

_Miroku spent the next couple hours in his room, making phone calls back to the states, back to his job, and back to his reality. The reality that he didn't want to face. The reality that Sango couldn't be with him when he left, and now that Amber had graduated, the only thing to look forward to was Sango's wedding. And that was something he wanted to deny since he discovered these newfound feelings for her._

_The house had quieted down after the girls went home, Amber had locked herself in her room and was chatting on the phone to Nelly. It was night time again, almost 11:00 and Miroku had, at some point, decided he wanted a snack. Just a small one before bed, and maybe a cigarette to help him sleep. His usual routine back home in New York._

_He opened the door and was pleased to see that his parents had already turned in for the night. They were early birds, early to bed, early to wake, but Miroku himself had always been a night owl and it seemed that Sango was that way too. Light peeked beneath her door and the faint sound of the television could be heard just outside her door._

_He wanted to go in there and talk to her, but she could have been asleep for all he knew. He didn't want to disturb her. After all, she was lonely tonight and he knew all too well what it was like to be lonely. It wasn't a nice feeling, sometimes it even made a tough guy like himself want to curl in a ball and cry. _

_Miroku leaned against the counter as he ate a small bowl of Cheerios. He was so enthralled in his own thoughts he didn't even notice someone had walked into the kitchen. He looked up and saw Sango standing by the fridge awkwardly in a pink bath robe._

_Miroku sat his bowl down on the counter. "Hey, I wasn't sure if you were still awake."_

_Sango tuned her attention away from him almost as soon as he had looked at her. "Yea, I can't sleep. It's so lonely in there." _

"_I know the feeling." Miroku said, playing around with his cereal, which had become soggy. _

"_I want to talk about what happened between us, Miroku." She said, her voice quivered with emotion. She made only brief eye contact with him as she spoke and then turned her attention towards the kitchen wall again._

_Miroku pushed off the counter. "Yea, I want to talk about it, too. I--"_

"_It has to stop." Sango told him, and she watched him become deflated as the words left her mouth._

_His confidence and ego had just taken a hard blow, but he knew a cigarette wouldn't help him out this time. "Are you saying you didn't feel anything? Anything at all?" His voice held a sense of hope, and Sango realized he was serious about her._

_Not that she already didn't know he was serious about her by the way he had kissed her earlier, but seeing his confidence and conceit shattered by her telling him it had to end was enough to break her heart. _

_She stepped towards him and resisted the urge to touch his very enticing shoulders. Even when he was dressed he was alluring to her and she suddenly found herself wondering what he would look like without any clothes at all. _

"_I didn't feel anything." Her dark brown eyes were shadowed by her thick dark hair and she didn't face him as she said it. She couldn't look him in the eyes _

_and tell him she didn't want to kiss him again, or maybe even do more. _

_Sango felt his fingers beneath her chin and he bought her gaze up to meet his eyes. "Look at me, and tell me. Tell me you didn't like the way I kissed you. Tell me I didn't set your world on fire. Tell me, Sango, because right now I have this crazy idea about being with you." His voice was rushed and hurried as he proclaimed his feelings to her._

"_Miroku, I'm engaged to another man!" Sango reminded him, as if he needed a reminder. That fact had been eating him alive for the past two days, it wasn't like he was ever going to forget. _

_She sighed and placed her hand on her forehead. "Miroku, what we did, getting involved like that, could ruin our entire friendship, something we have had for years."_

_His icy blue stare was focused on her and he strode across the room, forcing her to look at him once again. "Tell me then. Tell me you want me to leave you alone and you're going to marry Howard. Tell me you never want me to kiss you again."_

_Sango tried to turn her head, but his grip tightened firmly on her chin. Her eyes shimmered with tears and before she knew what she was doing, she was kissing him again, knocking him backwards into the kitchen table._

_Miroku was stunned, more by her kissing him then by the kitchen table knocking him in the rear. His hands rested on her hips and he allowed his hands to travel to her behind where he gave her a light squeeze. _

_Sango pulled away and for an instant Miroku thought he was going to get smacked, but instead she started to kiss his neck and a cocky grin came to his face. He knew she wanted him, just as bad as he wanted her and they had definitely crossed the line of best friends. _

"_You said you were alone tonight, huh?" He asked, as he enjoyed the feeling of her mouth on his neck, and the way her warm hands felt underneath his shirt. His only response was a soft moan. "I can keep you company tonight if you want?"_

_Sango stopped what she was doing and realization hit her once again. Miroku Keseki just asked her to go to bed with him! And now she was __considering_ it! What was wrong with her?

"Miroku…"

"I don't want to push you into anything that will make your life difficult." He said, rubbing her cheek lightly with his thumb. "Just let me know if you want a real man to love you."

Sango stared up at him and he could see the hesitation in her eyes. He didn't want it to happen like this, if he was going to sleep with her, he wanted her to have no doubts and no reservations. He turned from her.

"I'm sorry." He said, sighing. It was much easier to ignore the way she made him feel if he wasn't looking at her. "I got carried away, I shouldn't be asking a very happily committed woman to sleep with me. Especially my best friend."

She briskly walked towards her bedroom door and opened it slightly before turning around and facing him. "I just need time to think…"

Miroku held his hands up as if to surrender. "You do whatever you need to do. I'm…just going to go to bed. Maybe go have a smoke…I don't know." He was so confused right now he didn't even know his own damn name, much less of what to do with himself.

Sango simply shook her head and disappeared into her bedroom, closing the door behind her with a click.

***********************************************************************************

Hideko Yasha pulled the hem of the dress to the floor and peered back at the seamstress. "About two inches off the bottom, paired with a 4 inch heel." She reported and then peered up at Sango who stood on the high platform.

Her bead embroidered, white lace dress seemed to fit her perfectly, except it was just a bit too long. Sango stepped down off the platform and held her dress up then sat down on the bench near the far wall. She had been doing this all morning and it was already past noon. Her stomach growled and she desperately wanted to go pick up some lunch.

"Hey guys, why don't we take a break and let them alter this dress while we get something to eat." Sango suggested.

Kagome was examining a pair of white heels and she turned to face her friend. "Yea, I'm pretty hungry, too." She said standing up from her kneeling position by the shoe rack.

Hideko peered down at her watch. "Wow. I lost track of time. You're right. We better get something to eat. Where to?"

"Chizukanah Café?" Amber suggested from behind a rack of bridesmaid dresses.

"Good idea!" Kagome exclaimed, snatching her purse up from the coffee table that was littered with magazines. "I'll help Sango get dressed back into her normal clothes. You guys wait on us in the car."

"Alright." Hideko said, as she rushed Amber out to the car.

Within 15 minutes the quad of girls sat at an outside booth at the café. Hideko had noticed Sango seemed a bit quiet today.

"Sango-chan, are you alright?" The blond girl asked from across the table.

Sango peered up at her taken back by surprise. "I'm fine…why do you ask?"

"You just seem a bit quiet." Amber butted in. "I mean you're always quiet, it's just you seem a little…" She searched for the right word.

"Preoccupied." Kagome finished, receiving an agreeing nod with Amber.

Sango bit her lower lip contemplatively and closed her menu. "I've…just been thinking."

All three girls suddenly became interested and they were staring at her as if she was in a freak show. Sango darted her gaze around the table at the three girls.

"What?"

"It's Miroku-sama, isn't it?" Hideko asked, standing up.

Sango couldn't hide the blush from her friends and she looked down. "I…"

The waiter stepped up, interrupting Sango from what she was about to say, which she was secretly grateful for. She wasn't sure how to formulate her response. Here she was, out shopping for a wedding dress and was thinking about another man. She never thought she would have been the fickle type, especially at 21. And she never pictured herself to be kissing another man, who was also very attractive, 2 weeks before her wedding.

Yet, she was and she didn't want to stop.

On top of her mental berating, the waiter was her ex-boyfriend Jayceon Taylor. He had cheated on her just before she met Howard Bailey the summer before her senior year in high school. She had seem him kiss Shima Urameshi, which was also one of Miroku's ex-girlfriends, at the summer festival that year.

They never really forgave each other but time had healed everything and she could at least stand to be in the same room as Jayceon now.

She was pulled from her thoughts when Kagome nudged her in the side with her elbow. "Earth to Sango."

Sango looked up at Jayceon, he wore a cocky grin and he figured she must have been thinking about him to be so distracted that she didn't even realize it was time to order.

Of course, it was mostly thoughts of Miroku that had distracted her, but she would let him live in the moment.

Sango quickly scanned her menu once again. "Uhm, just Ramen with a side order of rice."

Jayceon gave her a small smile and Amber giggled. "We're ordering drinks, Sango."

This caused her to blush even more and she quickly ordered a sweet tea, not making eye contact. Jayceon smiled and walked away.

"You must really have something on your mind." Hideko commented. "It's not like you to be so scatterbrained."

Sango peered back and saw that Jayceon Taylor was out of sight. She desperately wanted to talk about her feelings for Miroku. That's what females do. They talk to other females about their emotions and problems they might be having and right now, Sango was having a big problem.

It was now or never. She took a deep breath, gathered her courage. If she could trust anyone in the world it was her three best friends.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 5_

_Amber stared in disbelief, while Hideko grinned slyly and Kagome was in utter shock._

"_You…and Miroku?" Amber asked, then she covered her ears with her hands, almost knocking Hideko out of the booth. "Ew! That's my brother!"_

_Hideko shoved Amber's elbow away and peered at Sango. "I knew it was going to happen one day between you two! I knew it!"_

_Kagome looked at her. "What about Howard?"_

"_I don't know. I love Howard, but ever since Miroku's been here things have changed." Sango said, thinking about the way her left arm looked. She had become very good at hiding the bruises with make up and wearing long sleeve shirts even in the middle of summer._

"_Well," Hideko said thoughtfully. "you __are_ attracted to Miroku, aren't you?"

"I don't know." Sango said. She was grateful for the momentary distraction when Jayceon bought out the food. It gave her time to try and deny that she had any feelings for Miroku and that she had actually initiated 2 out of 3 of their forbidden kisses.

"I think Miroku's hot." Kagome said, giggling.

Amber made a face and Hideko turned her attention towards Sango. "What do you think about him?"

Sango chewed on her rice thoughtfully. "Well, he's my best friend. To be sexually attracted to him would be weird, don't you think?"

"Not really." Hideko spoke up. "He's been gone for 7 years, he's changed. I don't think it would be so weird."

Sango was quiet for a moment, she hadn't even admitted to herself yet that she found him sexually attractive so what made her think she could admit it to her friends?

"Well," Sango began unsure of herself. "last night he kind of…sort of…asked me to go to bed with him."

"Ew!" Amber said, clasping her hands over her mouth.

Kagome giggled. "Oh wow. Lucky you."

"I told him no." Sango quickly added before Hideko decided to make any comments or Kagome decided to jump to any conclusions. Then she realized, she hadn't actually told him no. She said she to "have time to think."

"Wow. That takes willpower" Kagome piped up.

Hideko looked at her, a more serious tone filled her blue eyes. "Are you sure you still want to go through with this wedding?"

"Of course I do." Sango announced. "Just because he's trying to get me into bed with him, doesn't mean I'm going to do it." She said, realizing that she had cleared her plate and didn't even realize it. She always ate when she became nervous and at this rate she was going to need a few inches taken off the bottom and more inches added to the waist.

Hideko stood up and smiled, slapping a 20 on the table. "Then we better see how your dress is coming along."

***********************************************************************************

It was nightfall by the time Sango had made it home. They hadn't shopped the entire day, but instead became extremely interested in Sango's suddenly very intriguing love life and decided to go back to Hideko's house for dinner and "girl talk."

Not that Sango was really up to relaying all the details, but Hideko and Kagome had insisted, Amber really wasn't up for hearing all the details about Miroku though.

She sat down her purse on her dresser drawer and checked her cell phone which she had kept charging on her nightstand the entire day. The only message it had on it was that it was fully charged. No call from Howard, no text message. Nothing.

Of course, it wasn't unusual for Howard not to call her for a couple days after he left, but it still caused her to worry about him. Or maybe worry about what he was doing…

She sighed and placed the phone back on the nightstand. She was a little tired, the summer heat had drained her energy.

Sango could hear the faint sounds of a television coming from the other room. Miroku's room. It was just past 9 o'clock, so he was probably still awake, watching sitcoms or whatnot. He probably wouldn't mind if she joined him, would he?

Should she?

She was hesitant as she approached his room and even stood outside the door for a few moments, contemplating knocking.

His parents were gone, Amber had decided to spend the night with Hideko, so they were pretty much alone in this big empty house, let alone for Kirara who was asleep on her bed. She took a deep breath and tapped on his door lightly.

His voice sounded awake as he answered her. "Come in."

She twisted the doorknob and opened the door slowly, peeking in to see that he was lounged against his pillow. Miroku turned to face her, immediately losing interest in the television.

"Hey." He said smiling. "I didn't realize you were home."

"I was over at Hideko's house for a little while. How long have you been here?"

He shrugged. "All day."

Sango sat on the bed next to him. She had missed him terribly all day and she couldn't really explain why. Just being next to him, though, made her feel happy and peaceful.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him. "I've missed you." He said softly, his voice was warm and inviting and Sango wished she could have stayed like that the entire night. Her own bedroom was empty and lonely, even Kirara couldn't replace the company of a man to tumble into bed with.

Sango tensed at his touch, despite her desire to just sit with him like that. She didn't know what she was doing, the summer heat was magical. It could turn her brains into mush and she couldn't even think straight.

Or maybe it was Miroku.

She pulled away from him slowly. "I…really better go back to my own bedroom." A noticeable blush graced her features as she spoke and turned away from him.

"Why?" He asked, glancing at the side of her face. She was refusing to make eye contact with him. He shifted his weight and propped himself up on one elbow.

"Why? Because…" She searched around for an excuse.

A slow, lazy grin graced his features as he raised one eyebrow. His expression was cocky and confident, his voice was masculine and smooth and Sango felt herself wanting to melt into his embrace again. "Because you're afraid to be alone with me? I make you nervous, don't I? It shows in your body language, the way you pull away from me just as I touch you? Do you think I'm going to try and sleep with you?"

Miroku had hit the nail on the head, so to speak. Was he mind reader? Or maybe he was just really good at reading women. Or maybe he was really good at reading _her_.

Sango felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. "Of course I'm not afraid of that." She lied.

"You should be…"

A few seconds passed as she registered what he had meant. Everything was a riddle with him and she had to figure out and decode some of the things he had said. He was a clever, attractive man. She felt him cup her face with his hand.

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. He leaned towards her, his mouth brushing hers, then the feeling of his tongue as the kiss became deeper and more urgent.

She clasped her hands behind his head, and kissed him with an abandoned passion. She had never thought this was possible, but she was dizzy with want.

His tongue was demanding and avid, wet and thrusting against her own. Sango felt her breath catch in her throat as she felt his warm hand travel below her shirt and tug down her bra.

"Buddha knows I've wanted to do this for a long time…" His voice was husky and thick, filled with lust and passion. He stealthy fiddled with the clasp while he distracted her with his tongue until it fell free underneath her shirt.

"Miroku…" Sango's voice was hesitant and surprised and the innocent blush she gave him excited him.

His tongue flicked her ear as he began to tease her full breast with his fingers. He licked her neck and closed his mouth over the sensitive area, giving her tiny nips with his teeth.

Sango felt as if her bones had turned to liquid and the thought of that soft wet tongue on her breast made her ache inside. He was already one step ahead of her and was pulling her shirt up with his hands.

She helped him the rest of the way, and he immediately kissed down her neck towards her breasts. She urged his head down and tried to hold back a groan as she felt wetness engulf the small, pink peak.

Miroku pulled her breast into his mouth, teasing the sensitive flesh with his tongue. She looked down at him and rubbed her hands over his hard, muscled torso loving the feel of his flesh under her palms.

"Does that feel good?" He asked, and she opened her eyes smiling lazily at him.

It felt so good in fact that she couldn't wait until he continued to fondle her. His other hand slowly dragged up the side of her stomach and found the other one. His tongue continued to explore her breast, running along the underside, nibbling their softness and nipping at her until she wanted to scream.

Miroku slid his hand to her jeans and expertly unbuttoned them. She wriggled them off and parted her legs.

She was surprised by how wet she had gotten. Sango couldn't remember a time she had been so aroused with Howard. How was it that she had never reached these amazing heights of pleasure before? Was it because she had lost all self-control and was giving into her deepest and darkest passions? She wanted to make love to him, and she didn't care about the consequences it would have later.

How was she supposed to think about that when Miroku was doing what he was doing to her?

Miroku flattened his palm between his thighs and gently rubbed. In return, she found his pulsating manhood and she glanced up at him so she could witness his loss of self control.

"Take your time…" He said, after a small moan and she was a bit disappointed.

Time was something they didn't have. Before they would know it, time would have crept up on them and they would have to face the reality that this, as wonderful as it may be, couldn't last forever. He lived thousands of miles away in another country and she was engaged to another man, who she was in love with.

Or thought she was in love with. But Howard never made her feel like this.

But for the moment she pushed every thought of that to the back of her mind and eased her body down so that she could explore him the way he had been exploring her.

Her mouth drifted sensually over his flat stomach, she felt his muscles harden and tense under her, then she nuzzled his erection, covering it with her mouth. She felt him stiffen and his breathing grew more rapid.

With her hands, she stroked him softly, taking her time just as he told her to do. She ignored the pain in her knees as she kneeled on the hard floor. She wanted was happening between them to stretch out for as long as possible.

Sango realized she didn't want this to end. She didn't want to face reality and realize that this, whatever this was, was not real.

Sex, which she had always enjoyed, but never quite this much, had always been taken slow and it seemed so casual with Howard. Somehow, though, Sango had transformed it into something surging with passion and hunger that could not be tamed.

His hands tangled in her thick dark hair and she could feel her body yearning for him as he slowly stopped her and eased her back onto his bed. She eased her jeans off along so that her damp entrance was exposed to the chilly air of the house.

Sango had heard about this type of thing before, but Howard never had done it before. This type of intimacy had only been left up to imagination until now. She watched him kiss his way down her stomach, stopping at her navel and making small circles around it with his tongue. His nuzzled against her wetness and she hissed at the sensation of his warm, wet tongue flicking and teasing her swollen bud.

Her breath came in short pants as he continued to lick at her area of exquisite pleasure. Both hands were entwined in his hair, and she threw her head back resisting the urge to scream.

She gyrated her hips against him and he moaned, the small humming noise sent vibrations against her and she whimpered, a failed attempt to try and keep quiet. His hands grasped her hips and he urged her on with his tongue until pleasure washed over her like a crashing force.

Sango felt her body tighten and tense, and shudder uncontrollably.

Miroku placed a few small kisses on her sensitive area which caused her to shudder once again. He pulled away from her and grinned confidently down at her. He slipped off his jeans, throwing them to the floor and he thrust into her.

A deep, burning excitement filled her, unlike anything she had ever experienced before. A slight pain had also accompanied the wonderful feeling of him completing her and he was much larger than what she had expected, but she enjoyed the completely full feeling of him.

His mouth covered hers in a hungry, urgent kiss and his hand cupped her breast as he massaged it.

A deep cry and moan of ecstasy escaped her throat she felt her climax overtake her body. He reached his own heights of pleasure and she felt her body stiffen around him as he filled her.

When she opened her eyes again, he was staring down at her with the same lazy, content look in his eyes. She traced his feature with one finger and smiled.

"That was the best sex I have ever had in my entire life."

He grinned and pulled her finger into his mouth briefly. "Same here. Wow." He said, realizing he hadn't pulled out of her yet. He didn't want to lose that feeling, not just the physical feeling of her flesh, but the closeness and one had felt with her.

Then reality set in.

Miroku eased himself out of her, slightly embarrassed by his flaccid manhood. He had never been so completely satisfied, but yet at the same time, hungered for more.

He leaned against his pillow and pulled the quilt over both of them, realizing that the air conditioner had made the room quite chilly. She eased herself next to him, grateful for his consideration of her modesty, even though he had clearly seen her completely naked.

His voice was deep and serious, but his fingers seemed to playfully stroke her arm, sending shivers down her spine. "What now?"

"I…" Sango hesitated. "I don't know. All I know right now is…" She felt a tear escape her eye and Miroku felt his neck grow hot with worry and his heart plummet.

"You regret that, don't you?"

"No." Sango denied, wiping a tear away. "That's not why I'm crying…"

Miroku peered down at her, and wiped her tears away. "Then what's the matter?"

"I'm crying because…" She paused and looked away, towards his muted television, then back to his handsome face. "I love you, Miroku."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

Miroku woke up way past daylight. Even though he had slept alone, the memories of last night where still with him in the bright sunshine of the late morning.

And so where her words. Sango had told him she loved him last night and he realized that he loved her, too. Last night wasn't just sex to him. He had made love to the woman of his dreams and it was more exhilarating then he could have ever imagined.

He could smell food from the kitchen and he realized he was really quite hungry, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to face Sango, yet. He knew from experience that things like this seemed so different in the light of day then they do in the dark of night.

She might not have regretted it last night, but she might regret it today.

Miroku quickly got dressed in a pair of jeans and an forest green button-up shirt, which he decided not to button, and decided to face the inevitable. He opened his bedroom door, walked through the living room and sat down at the table.

Sango glanced up at him from the newspaper and gave him a small smile, trying to act casual in front of his family. Amber had come home from Hideko's sometime early in the morning and was now chatting on the phone with Nelly about something trivial. His mother was cooking breakfast and his father was gone once again.

So that just left them at the kitchen table, looking at each other and wondering if they other was thinking the same things they were. Miroku really couldn't tell what she was thinking and that made him jittery. He needed a cigarette and he didn't even know why he was worried about what his mother thought.

He was a grown man. He could do what he wanted. If he wanted a cigarette, he could have one. If he wanted to stay locked up in his room all day and night, he could. If he wanted to sleep with his best friend, he could do that, too.

Miroku stood up and placed a hand on Sango's shoulder before he exited through the front door. He lit his cigarette and leaned against the house and gathered his thoughts.

He hadn't really had time to do that before he fell asleep last night. He took a long drag of his cigarette. Sango hadn't said one word to him this morning, just a small smile and a knowing glance.

That was better than nothing he supposed.

He exhaled the smoke into the crisp morning air. This was killing him. Smoking wasn't helping at all and what he really needed to do was talk to her. Miroku threw down his cigarette and stomped it out, then reentered the house to see Sango was pacing back and force on her cell phone arguing with somebody.

"That's cutting it too close. Are you sure you can't make it home any earlier that that?" She asked, then was silent for a few moments. "Promise?"

Another pause.

"Alright. Bye Howard. I lo--" She stopped and looked down at her phone, then pressed the end call button. Sango glanced up at him as he stepped into the kitchen and she placed her cell phone on the kitchen table.

Miroku stared at her for a long moment and he saw the sadness in her eyes. He walked towards her, shoving his hands in his pockets just so he could suppress the urge to reach out and touch her again. "What's the matter?"

"It's Howard…" Sango said, a hint of worry in her voice. "He's not going to be home for another four days."

Miroku raised an eyebrow quizzically. And that was bad news? Did she really enjoy having Howard around? Did she not think last night was as magical as he did? Or maybe she was just confused.

Maybe he was a bad lover, perhaps Howard could satisfy her more. His ego had taken a blow by that thought. "Well," he said, trying to sound as casual as he could in front of his mother and Amber. "you're not getting married for another, what, week and a half?"

"Yes, but that isn't the point." She said, not making eye contact with him. That seemed difficult for her to do and it made him worry. He had definitely crossed boundaries last night, there was no question about that and maybe here in the light of day she did regret what had happened after all.

Amber looked at her with concern. "Don't worry, Sango-chan. He'll be home in time for the wedding."

Sango fiddled with her engagement ring and realized she had broken everything that meant last night. She felt like a horrible person and a slut and she couldn't bare the feeling of Miroku's stare on her.

She turned away from him and hurried to her room, leaving him in the kitchen, along with his mother and a very confused Amber.

His mother gave him a small smile as she dried off a cup with a towel at the sink. "You should go talk to her, dear. You've always had a way with her."

Miroku scratched the back of his head nervously and knew his mother didn't know just how right she was. Their little rendezvous was probably still on her mind and he contemplated going into the room with her. After a long moment of silence he sighed.

"Yea. I'll go talk to her." He said, stepping towards her bedroom. He tapped lightly with his knuckle and he tried to make his voice not so overpowering.

"Sango, are you alright?"

Silence.

He sighed. "Sango, c'mon. I want to talk to you."

Her bedroom door opened, and she stared back at him, her eyes red and puffy from crying. Miroku's face softened and he pretty much invited himself in. Sango had turned her back away from him and was dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

"Are you alright?" He asked, shutting the door. He hated to see her suffer like this and it was all his fault. He had lost all self control last night and he was probably going to go to hell and lose Sango as a friend in the process.

"I don't even know anymore." Her voice was soft and barely audible, her back was to him and he desperately wanted her to look at him.

"Sango, look at me please." He said, grabbing her arm slightly and turning her to face him. Her eyes averted to the ground and he forced her gaze to him. "Please, look at me."

Her gaze was fixed on his. "What?"

"I know you're upset about last night. I know you regret it and I'm sorry. I was careless." Miroku admitted.

"It was just as much of my fault as it was yours." Sango said. "That's why I feel so horrible. Howard's been nothing but faithful to me and I betrayed him."

Miroku peered down at her. His stature was taller than her and she suddenly found herself wanting to be wrapped in his arms again. She wanted to make love to him again and feel that fire he had ignited in her.

"Are you sure he's been faithful to you, Sango?" Miroku asked, after a long moment of silence.

Sango bit her lip and looked away. "Of course I'm sure. I'm going to be his wife and he loves me."

"What about these business trips?" He asked. "What do you think he does?"

Sango scowled at him and her expression was angry. "Are you saying that girls in the United States are prettier than I am?"

"No!" Miroku protested. "I didn't mean it that way. Sango, I've lived in the states for 7 long years and I have never seen any woman that would even _hope_ to compare to your beauty."

Sango was shocked by his outpouring of words and how sincere his voice sounded. "Really?"

"Really." He replied, his voice was much softer and comforting then before. "It has nothing to do with the way you look anyway. That's not why people cheat. It's more of a power trip and a self-esteem thing."

"I assume you've cheated before than, since you know so much?" Sango asked, suspiciously. She felt a stab of jealousy in her chest so intense that it actually caused her physical pain.

"Uh…well…a few times." He said, sheepishly. "Back in my fraternity days."

"You were in a fraternity?"

"Yea. In college." Miroku said. "I had a few girlfriends, nothing special." He paused and looked at her. "Nothing that even compares to you."

Sango couldn't help but blush by his compliment. She never would have pictured Miroku being a frat boy. Of course, she never pictured him to smoke either or sleep with her.

She was silent for a moment, trying to avoid eye contact with him once again, then finally her gaze locked on his eyes. "Miroku, can I ask you something?"

"Anything." He said.

"If…you were with me…would you ever cheat on me?"

"Never." He replied, without a moment's hesitation. He shifted his position behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. His bare chest brushed against the soft cotton of her shirt. "I don't believe I told you this last night, but I really do believe I'm in love with you." He finished his statement with a small kiss on her neck.

"You are?" She asked, shocked. The familiar feeling of his lips to her skin was exhilarating.

"Yes." He replied softly and his hand glided between his thighs, caressing her through her jeans.

"Miroku, we're not alone, remember?" She protested, as if that was the only reason she should stop him from making advances on her. Sango didn't try in the least bit to push him off of her because his touch was quickly firing her body into a wet and willing response.

"I know we're not." He said, pulling away from her before he lost his senses again. Sango immediately wanted that warm feeling of his arms around her again, but she figured it would lead somewhere she didn't want it to lead right now. "I'm sorry. I'll keep my hands to myself."

"Is that a promise?"

"Frat's honor." He said, winking with a smile, in a very Miroku-like way.

***********************************************************************************

Night fall had come once again and it was the time of night when Sango's thoughts started to bug her frenziedly again. She felt lonely in her bedroom, the house was completely silent, except for the familiar hum of the television in Miroku's room.

She sat on her bed, ringing Howard's cell phone for the 5th time in the last hour. She glanced at her clock and realized she had almost forgotten about the time difference. Her digital alarm clock read 11:13 P.M., that meant it was 1 o'clock P.M. the next day in the U.S. Of course he was awake at this hour, maybe he was in a meeting or something like that.

At least that's what she wanted to believe. Miroku's conversation with her really caused her to open her eyes and look at her and Howard's relationship in a whole new perspective. Could these business trips be anything more than just that…business trips. She didn't know and she was really honestly too tired to analyze it.

Sango gave up trying his number and threw her cell phone onto her bed and then exited her bedroom. The house was dark except for the hallway light Miroku's mother had left on for middle-of-the-night bathroom trips and probably for the nocturnal Miroku.

It was stuffy and warm in the house tonight, despite the air conditioner being on. She wanted some fresh air and opened the front door to step outside on the porch and took a deep breath of fresh summer air.

"Not headed to bed?" A male voice sounded from behind her and Sango almost jumped out of her skin.

In the dark of night, his shadowy silhouette was tall and mysterious, a small, red light gave away the fact he had stepped outside for a smoke. One hand was stuck in his pocket and the other one held the cigarette to his mouth.

"Smoking again?" She asked, trying to hide the fact he had frightened her. He was so quiet and stealthy and she was quite embarrassed by the fact.

"Nerves." He said, for an excuse, then flicked the charred bud away.

Sango leaned against the house next to him. "Are you headed for bed?"

Miroku kicked the cigarette off the side of the porch. "Actually," he said, pushing himself off the wall. "I was thinking about a stroll on the beach. Care to join me?"

They both knew what he was implying and after a moment's hesitation she nodded.

Neither of them spoke a word until they reached the small bike path that led to the beach. "I've never strolled on the beach on midnight before." She confessed.

Miroku was now so close to her that she could feel herself being aroused by just the mere thought of what he could do to her at any moment. The lights from the all-night bars and restaurants illuminated him and she saw that he still had failed to button up his shirt and it really distracted her mind.

He gave her a handsome, lop-sided grin. "You live within walking distance of the beach and you've never taken a midnight stroll with Howard?"

"I've asked." She told him. "But he always says it's too late or too cold or too something."

Sango felt his arm snake around her shoulders and despite it being the middle of June, the ocean breeze gave a chill to the night air and his warm, strong body kept her warm and gave her a feeling of security.

"It's quite an experience." He murmured softly. His handsome voice was like a caress--a velvety, sexual caress.

Everything around them was dark. The sea was dark with a reflection of the silver moon in the sky, the trees were dark, the sand was dark and Miroku had even stepped on a couple of sticks, one of which really hurt but he kept quiet.

With every step away from the restaurants and clubs she could feel her excitement growing. The late ocean breeze gave her a whiff of his cologne and that deep pulsating need seemed to grow stronger just by the masculine scent.

Miroku finally stopped and cupped her face with his hands. He had promised to keep his hands to himself, but this little walk on the beach with her was strangely arousing and he couldn't help himself. And he was more than happy she didn't protest to the fact he was going to kiss her.

His lips brushed hers in a soft, lingering, never-ending kiss. Sango swore she wouldn't let him do this again, she had decided that when she had gotten changed last night and went to her own bedroom to sleep. But yet, here she was allowing him to throw her sluggish hormones into overdrive again.

His hands were like magic as they moved to her waist, his thumb meeting at her naval. He pulled her shirt over her head and was disappointed to see that she was wearing a bra. His work wasn't quite cut out for him, but he discovered last night that undressing her was part of the fun.

He buried his head between her breasts and kissed the half-exposed flesh and he felt his erection become painfully hard at the mere action.

He pulled her restraints aside and ran his tongue over the sensitive, pink bud, savoring her sweetness that he had grown to love and be addicted to. Everything was so exquisitely slow and it seemed as if it could last forever.

She could feel the warm sensation pool between her legs and when he finally nuzzled her lower region once again, she had to stop herself from moaning in ecstasy. She wasn't sure if they were completely alone or not, it was too dark to tell. There was no hurried action to send her over the edge to a mind-blowing climax. He simply licked and sucked on the bud of femininity and there wasn't a single place on her body that wasn't on fire.

The minutes seemed to stretch on for eternity as he continued to please her, his own urgency to fill her was building the more he fondled her sensitive area gently.

There was something surprisingly tender about their love-making.

Even when he thrust into her, it was deep, long strokes. His dark hair clung to his forehead with sweat and his face wore an expression of pure pleasure. Sango even felt as if her body was created especially for this. To receive him, and him only.

She never felt that way about Howard.

Miroku made her feel completely feminine and she liked it. It wasn't in a demeaning way, or an overpowering way, either. It was in a comforting away, as if he was her protector and she was his lover. This is what it felt like to truly be in love and she was missing out on a lot.

She arched her back towards him, so that with every thrust he made into her his tongue could flick across her breast and urge her on even more. Their bodies were slippery with sweat, partially do to the summer air and partially because of what they were doing. She could feel him burning against her. The tight muscles of his stomach tensed against her own and she could finally hold out no longer.

She gave a loud cry of pleasure as he quickened his pace. The sensation of her final pleasure sent him over the edge and he gave a low moan as he released himself inside her.

His mouth found hers in an urgent, unrehearsed kiss as every bone in his body was filled with passion. He pulled out of her and rolled next to her on their bed of sand.

Miroku wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck lovingly, pushing back the strands of hair on her neck. "I love you so very much." He said softly.

She turned to face him as she tried to slow her heartbeat down. "I love you, too."

He smiled at her, the only noise between them was the sound of the loud bar just down the beach. They just stared at each other in the darkness for a long moment before Miroku had the energy to sit up and gather their clothes.

"We should probably go and rinse off before we get dressed and head back, hm?" He asked, looking at her very sandy legs, her entire back was covered in sand as well.

"Oh, right." Sango stood up and brushed the sand from her hair and they started towards the water. The water seemed colder at night, but it was thrilling to be washing off almost completely naked with him.

He shook the water from his dark wet hair and he enjoyed trying to get the sand off Sango's back. He touched her more than he really needed to, but she didn't mind that. She loved his touch. She loved his kiss. She loved everything about him.

Miroku handed Sango her clothes and she quickly dressed. She was still so skittish about Miroku seeing her naked and she really didn't know why. He obviously loved the way she looked, he couldn't seem to keep his hands off her.

But she still found flaws in herself that she couldn't overcome, though Miroku saw none.

"Shall we?" He asked, holding out his hand to her.

She smiled and took his hand and allowed him to lead her back home.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 7_

_Sango hadn't spoken to him in almost 3 days and Miroku didn't really understand why. He had the slightest hint of suspicion that it had something to do with him having sex with her after she told him to keep his hands off, but he had disregarded that without hesitation and apparently she did too._

_The past three days were filled with a hunger and passion for her that wasn't being filled, and he realized that if he packed up and went back to the U.S., he would always feel like this._

_An empty hallow feeling inside that couldn't be filled by anything else except being with her in the most intimate way possible. It went way past physical pleasure for him and he wondered if Sango felt the same way. _

_He blew out the smoke from his cigarette and flicked the ash over the side of the porch into the grass. It had been three long, miserable days without her and he was starving for her attention and her touch._

_Miroku walked back inside the house and found it strange that Hideko, Kagome and Amber all stopped chattering when he entered the living room. Sango looked up at him momentarily, then quickly looked away from him._

_It pained her look at him. Not because she couldn't stand the sight of him, the exact opposite actually. Every time she laid eyes on him it reminded her of how much she was in love with Miroku Keseki._

_Miroku had to appear casual and he leaned against the wall, his hands stuck in his pockets. "What are you girls chattering about?"_

"_Nothing." Kagome said, overly cheerfully. _

_Miroku raised an eyebrow and glanced at his cousin, then his sister, then finally at Sango and their eyes locked for a quick second before she turned her head again. He felt a rush of heat and he desperately wished she would at least talk to him. _

_The front door squeaked open and Sango raised herself to her feet. Miroku wasn't expecting Howard Bailey to step through the door, but that's exactly who materialized right before his eyes._

_He had his hands all over her as he pulled her into a welcome back kiss and Miroku pounded his fist against the wall._

_Hideko had noticed and was glad to finally see Miroku was displaying some jealousy. Sango gently pushed him away and gave a quick glance back at Miroku who was clearly not happy with the situation._

_Miroku knew Howard was supposed to return home today. He spent the whole night before preparing himself mentally for it, but yet all of that didn't seem to matter because the fact that he had his arm around her waist drove him mad._

"_Miss me?" Howard asked, with a grin._

"_Of course." Sango said, hesitantly as she was pulled into another kiss._

_Miroku clutched onto the pack of cigarettes in his pocket and he felt as if he needed to smoke five of them at the same time. But no matter how much he fooled himself into thinking that it helped, it didn't. _

_Either way, he needed to get out of this room, out of this house. "Kagome, where's Inu Yasha?"_

"_He's at home. He's off work today." Kagome informed him. "Why?"_

"_I miss hanging around him. Think he'd mind if I stop by?"_

"_I'm sure he wouldn't." Kagome said, smiling. Miroku suddenly felt nervous around his cousin's fiancée. The girl could always read him well and he knew that she knew what had happened between them._

"_Alright. Then I'm gone." He said, clearing his throat. "I'll be back tonight."_

_Sango watched him as he left the house, his fist shoved in his pockets. She supposed he planned on walking to Inu Yasha's house, which wasn't that far. _

_She wondered what he could be thinking. How he must feel about Howard coming around and pawing at her like she was some kind of trophy wife to be. Of course, she deserved it. The way she had acted while he was away was unacceptable and she felt ashamed._

_But she was in love with Miroku. There was no denying that, but nothing could ever happen between them, not anything serious anyway. They're little fling had to end, now, and be kept secret forever._

_No matter how the memories would always made her skin tingle with delight. She would always remember the sensation of his fingertips gliding over her skin, or the feeling of his tongue on her flesh. The wonderful feeling of having him complete her would stick with her always and she felt as if she could leave this world knowing, for at least once in her life, she had been truly loved and had experienced pure and utter bliss._

_Miroku, though, was not content with that lifestyle. He flicked his cigarette on the sidewalk and snuffed it out just before he knocked on Inu Yasha's door. His house was nestled away by some large apartment buildings, much like the ones Miroku resided in back in New York._

_The door opened and Inu Yasha greeted him with a small smile. "Ah, so you came to see me, eh, pervert?" He joked, nudging him with his arm._

"_Sorry I haven't been by." Miroku apologized as Inu Yasha invited him in._

"_So what's been up, man?" Inu Yasha questioned as he lounged back in his chair._

"_You really want to know?" Miroku asked, plopping himself down on the couch. Kagome's cat, who he was surprised was still alive, Buyou, jumped in Miroku's lap and he stroked the small furry cat as Inu Yasha gave him a wary look._

"_What'd you do now?" Inu Yasha asked in his usual gruff voice. _

_Miroku rubbed his sweaty palms on his jeans like he always did when he spoke of something he didn't want to talk about. "I slept with Sango."_

_The confession hung in the air for a long moment and Inu Yasha sputtered his drink. He scowled and glanced over at his cousin. "Why don't you warn me next time you're going to shock me like that so I don't choke to death?'_

"_Sorry." Miroku apologized, stifling a grin. "I didn't know that was going to be so much of a shock."_

"_Sango is the last woman I would expect you to have sex with." Inu Yasha said in disbelief. "Out of all the women in the U.S., you'd come back here and sleep with your best friend who is getting married in 6 days to another man."_

"_It just happened." Miroku said with a pause. Then he sighed dramatically. "Twice."_

"_Twice?"_

"_Twice." Miroku confirmed._

"_Are you insane?" Inu Yasha asked standing up. "Howard Bailey is crazy, Miroku. You're going to get yourself killed."_

"_Oh?" Miroku queried, raising an eyebrow. "Crazy, eh?'_

"_Yes." Inu Yasha said. "He shot one of Sango's ex boyfriends with a BB gun just because he said hello to her when they were out one night."_

"_Wow." Miroku chuckled. "Imagine what he'd do to me if he knew I had sex with her."_

"_Exactly!" Inu Yasha exclaimed, raking his hand through his thick silver hair. He sighed and sat back down. "What are you going to do now that he's back? End it with her?"_

_Miroku buried his face in his hands. "I don't know. I mean, I should, I just don't know if I can. She won't even speak to me as it is. I'm afraid If I end things with her she's going to think I used her." _

"_You better be careful, bozo. You've got a PH.D. in medicine, but that doesn't have any reflection on your common sense I guess." _

"_I suppose when it comes to matters of the heart brains have nothing to do with it." Miroku stated, shrugging._

_Inu Yasha raised one eyebrow and folded his arms. "Are you saying you're in love with her?"_

"_Yes." _

"_You're dumber than I thought." Inu Yasha muttered. "Well, just be careful and stay on Howard's good side."_

"_I'll try."_

_***********************************************************************************_

_Miroku made it back home by dinner time, but chose not to eat. He wasn't hungry. Seeing Sango and Howard like that was too much for him to handle and just like it had before it made him lose his appetite._

_He just opted to stay in his room and watch Jeopardy again. Amber didn't question him for his strange behavior this time because she knew exactly why the two were acting this way._

_Sango didn't look at him. Miroku's own eyes bore into her as he had walked through the kitchen. Neither of them spoke._

_Though, Amber didn't know the whole story and Miroku planned to keep it that way. His sister tended to have a big mouth and he thought it best if they're affair stayed between him and Sango, only. Oh, and Inu Yasha._

_Inu Yasha was really the only male companion he knew he could trust. Sure, he liked Nelly but he didn't know him. His father would have simply preached at him about adultery and respecting what a relationship means between two people._

_And he understood that. He respected relationships. Just not Howard and Sango's relationship because it wasn't convenient for him. Miroku had become selfish at some point over the past 7 years. He was one of the cool guys, handsome and strong, fitting in with the rest of the boys in his fraternity as if they were his natural born brothers and Miroku had forgotten how it felt to work for a woman's affection._

_But when Sango stepped back into his life, or rather __he_ stepped back into _hers_, he was reminded how it felt to have to work hard for what you get, then have it taken away from you yet again.

And if he was completely honest with himself, he would say it hurt like hell. To see Sango and Howard together like that, after all that they had shared, bothering him unlike anything he ever imagined possible.

But now that he was away from the illusion of being the alpha male he was back home, he felt low and not so confident. His cockiness had definitely taken a blow and even his sister had seen a change in his attitude since Howard had been back.

Sango had seen a huge change in his attitude. He wasn't nearly as easy going or assertive as he had been and she blamed herself. How awful could it be to have someone sleep with you, not just one, but twice, then run back to their fiancé like you didn't even matter?

She felt like a horrible person and the more she thought about it, the less appetite she had. Sango quietly stood up and excused herself, Howard wondered what was bothering her but didn't bother to leave his meal to go and check.

She emerged from her room a minute or two later in a pair of cut off shorts, tank top, and flip flops. She looked like she was ready for a long day at the beach to soak up the sun, but she was really just prepared to go and take a walk on the beach. Just like she had with Miroku.

The night they made love for the second time, the night she relinquished all her desires and needs to him. She gave her body to him right here on this sandy beach and in his bedroom. And she loved every minute of it.

Unfortunately, she knew it couldn't last forever. Miroku's family and Howard's family had already set everything up for the wedding and it was a real fine time for her to be getting cold feet.

Sango couldn't just tell them it was off. Besides, she'd get over it. All she had to do was tell Miroku that it had to end between them because when she took her vows to Howard, she was going to stay completely faithful to him.

Smiling, content with her plan, and pivoted on her foot to start back towards the house only to see a lone shadow walking towards her, more like running.

"Sango!" He shouted, his distinct voice told her exactly who it was and she froze. He broke out into a jog as he held his hand up to her as if to tell her to wait on him.

She allowed him to catch up to her and she didn't look at him as he loomed near her. "Miroku…what are you doing out here?"

"I came to see you. I want to know why you left out of there so fast." Miroku replied. "Is everything alright?"

Sango looked away from him, hesitantly. When she finally spoke it was jarring. "No. Everything isn't alright, Miroku."

Miroku was taken by surprise and he watched as tears came to her eyes. "What's the matter, Sango?"

"Everything!" Her voice was cracked as an eruption of sobs overcame her. She felt him place a hand on her back and the familiar warm feeling of safeness and security overwhelmed her again and she couldn't let it. "No, Miroku! Don't touch me."

He put his hands in his pockets. "Fine. I won't touch you. But I want you to tell me what's wrong?"

Sango had planned to tell him it was over, she had planned that all along. But now that she stared up into the blue eyes of the man who came in, turned her world upside down and changed the course of life, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Her heart wouldn't allow her.

"Miroku, I can't." She said, wanting to run back to the house, lock herself in her room and never come out.

"Why?" He asked. "If something is bothering you I would like to know. I need to know."

"You! Miroku! You're bothering me!" She yelled.

"Me? How the hell am I bothering you? I just came out here to check on you!" He shouted angrily.

Sango turned her gaze away from her and folded her arms. "You know I was perfectly fine until you came along. You come back and everything is just so fucked up, I don't even know what I'm going to do with myself!"

"Oh, sure. Everything was fine until I came along." He said, his voice was laced with a sarcastic tone. "Your fiancé treats you like garbage. You're obviously not happy because, if you were, you wouldn't have slept with me. Not once, but twice."

Sango paused and looked momentarily panicked by his last comment.

Miroku pulled out his cigarette package and lit up again. He took one puff of his cigarette before Sango reached out and snatched it from him. "Hey!"

"Stop doing that every time you get stressed out! It's not good for you!" She shouted, stomping it into the sand.

"That was my last one!" He gasped, kicking sand out of the way. "Damn it, Sango. What gives you the right to tell you how to live my life, huh?"

"I'm not trying to!" Sango shouted back at him. "But you're the one who decides to come back and get so involved in _my_ life! I was perfectly happy! I love Howard!"

Miroku brushed sand off his shoe and looked up at her. "Yea, well you kind of thre the whole 'love' thing out the window when you had sex with me, didn't you?" His dark eyes shimmered and she knew he was trying to make this into a fight.

Sango was silent for a moment and she really wished he would quit bringing that up. It only reminded her of what was on her mind and it frightened her. "Will you stop talking about that?"

"Why? Because you feel guilty?" His voice was raised and that only seemed to anger Sango even more. "You have sex with me while your fiancé's gone and the moment he comes back you act like I don't exist!"

"Miroku…"

"No! You know what? Go run back to Howard, have a great life without me!" He turned his back from her and started towards his mother's house. Sango watched him, his back was stiff and he kicked sand up behind his heel.

"Miroku!"

He stopped, she saw his shoulders slump and he spun around to peer at her. "What?" He tried to portray anger in his voice, but he couldn't seem to stay mad at her. She looked so fragile standing just a few yards away from him and he found himself wanting to pull her into his arms and make love to her all over again.

"I don't want a life without you." Sango's voice quivered with emotion and with in two strides he was in front of her again. His big, solid frame loomed in front of her.

"What are you saying, Sango?" His voice was low and seductive, his scent was musky, male, memorable.

"I'm saying I don't want what happened between us to change our friendship." She said, and he clearly didn't like that answer.

"You sure about that?" He asked, bending his head so that his mouth brushed her neck and Sango took a shaken breath at the sensation.

"Don't!"

"Don't what?" He asked, nuzzling her neck lovingly.

"I d-don't want you kissing me." Sango stammered, tilting her head back.

Miroku moved her mouth upwards along her neck and traced his tongue along her ear. "You don't, Sango?" He breathed in her ear and she felt dizzy, her knees were weak but his arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, keeping her from falling.

His mouth finally found hers and she clutched his open shirt in a fierce reaction. Her hands moved involuntarily up his chest and around his neck, stroking his hair and the tense muscles at the nape of his neck.

A second later she was picked up off the sandy beach, one arm under leg and the other around her waist, her feet dangled over his arms. The movement seemed to break her back to reality and she pulled away from him. "Miroku, put me down."

"Oh, I'll put you down." He said, and a second later she found herself being laid down in a secluded area of the beach, under the shadows of trees and tall grass. His mouth crashed against hers hotly. Sango's mind went blank and her body reacted with such an intensity it frightened her. Her body was being consumed by a fire that only Miroku could ignite in her. She ran her fingers through his sleek dark hair as she felt him force his tongue into her mouth.

She kissed him back urgently. She needed to feel the sensation of him, and hear his deep groan of satisfaction. Her mind had control over her body no longer; her body knew what it wanted and it wanted Miroku. Her heart wanted Miroku, and she had no control over it any longer.

But common sense was something Sango had a lot of and she had promised herself she wasn't going to sleep with Miroku anymore, no matter how hard he tried. "Miroku, stop. You're not going to make me sleep with you again."

"I'm not going to make you do anything." His voice was deep, manly and slurred with intensity. He occupied his mouth by kissing her along her neck. Fire licked inside her as the sensation of his tongue on her sensitive skin.

She shivered. "Miroku…"

"Sango…" He said her name mockingly as she did his and then grinned at her, his dark eyes sparkling, before he lowered his lips to her throat. "I want you like hell!"

"You…you can't have me!" She said, hoping to sound strong. She was yielding at his mercy, and right now he had none.

His mouth met hers again as if to shut her up and it sent waves of pleasure zipping through her body. He pulled back to remove his already open shirt, which he discarded carelessly in the sand.

Sango tried to scramble up again, only to meet his mouth. It was demanding, coaxing, sensual and it blew her mind. The fight left her, and she pulled him down to her, running her hands over his strong, muscled arms and needing to feel every inch of his hard male body.

Miroku groaned. "Oh, yes! Yes!" His voice was a breathy whisper, against her own mouth and he came back to her lips, forcing his tongue inside. His own hands were exploring her body once again, memorizing every curve and shape of her thighs as he pushed her skirt up. He then pulled her flimsy tank top off and threw it in the sand.

"Miroku! That's my clothes."

"And they look great on you." He said, ignoring her protest and continued to kiss her again. He pulled her upwards and quickly unclipped her bra. His mouth moved across her naked midriff and he tugged down her lacy panties. "But they look even better off."

She pulled at his hair as if to stop him, his dark hair sprang up around her fingers. "You're going to fast."

"Sango, If I don't have you soon, I'm going to go out of my mind." He kicked off his jeans, then wrestled his boxers off, tossing them both in the sand. They were both naked, staring at each other in shock and awe that they were actually doing this again, and had no qualms about it.

Sango looked at his broad shoulders, muscled waist, strong hips and finally at what lay between them.

Breathing roughly and not so smoothly, he came down on top of her, pushing her legs apart and moving between them. His hands softly caressed her smooth thighs as he opened her for his entry. The third time he would make love to her and this was by far the most passionate. But in 6 days, she would be gone forever from him and this was just a dream he was fooling himself into.

The last thing he wanted her to do was come back at him and accuse him of forcing her into it, so he stopped before he entered her, even though she was practically begging him to take her again. "Sango, are you sure?"

"Yes." She said, reaching down and wrapping her hand around his large, hard girth. "I need you inside me now."

He pushed himself into her without a moment's hesitation and a long sensual moan escaped her throat. It was a miracle how exact they fit together.

They made love with a fiery urgency. He was a driving, powerful force inside her and she loved every minute of their lovemaking. Sango had even forgotten she was outside and cried out not really knowing what she was saying as she felt him release himself inside her for the third time.

He collapsed on top of her, his breath dancing across her neck, making her neck feel cool from perspiration. Miroku slowly slid off of her, her back faced him and he slowly slid his arms around her. "Did you mean that?"

"Mean what?" Sango asked, exhausted and limp in his embrace.

"That you loved me." He said softly. "You said it just a few seconds ago."

Sango turned to face him, unfortunately coating the other side of her body in sand as well. "Of course I did, Miroku. Of course I love you."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8

Miroku took a deep breath before he opened the door to his house. Sango trailed behind him trying to wipe the grains of sand from her clothes. The door squeaked open and he was disappointed to see Howard sitting at the kitchen table.

He flashed Sango a smile, then a hateful look towards Miroku. "Thanks for fetching her."

Miroku's eyes flashed with anger, but he bit his tongue. He acted if she was part of his property.

Sango peered back at him as he led her towards their bedroom, her eyes were full of apprehension and Miroku watched her helplessly as she disappeared into the room.

He plopped down in a kitchen chair and stared blankly down at the table. He was starving, but he didn't want to eat. He could still feel her on him and that was possibly the worst pain of it all.

Why was he putting himself through this? It was way to painful. Maybe this was Karma's way of coming back and kicking him in the ass for breaking so many girl's hearts before in his lifetime. He never realized how that felt until now.

But somehow, this was different. Sango was obviously confused and she wasn't intentionally trying to hurt him. He knew her better than that.

Sighing, he stood up from the table and headed for bed.

***********************************************************************************

Sango came to him again an entire two days later. Howard Bailey had taken another trip, this time to Kyoto and it was late, he still hadn't returned.

It had been a whole four days since he last touched her and just having her sit with him in this friendly manner as she was now was beginning to get to him.

Miroku wasn't paying a lot of attention to what was on the television because he wanted to strike up a conversation with Sango. A very serious one. "Sango, are you sure you're going to marry Howard?"

She stiffened, then groaned at his question. "Yes, Miroku. I am. I love him."

"But you love me." Miroku reminded her, pulling her gaze away from the television to face him. "And I love you."

Miroku was so close to her, that Sango felt her eyelashes brush when she blinked. She didn't stop him when he moved down and claimed her mouth with his in a passionate kiss.

It seemed like just trying to hang out and be friends, something that they were very good at doing in the past, had become extremely difficult to do without having sex, or at least fooling around.

Sango wanted to stop him and tell him no, but her body wouldn't let her and her mind was once again battling with her body and her emotions. She loved the feeling of his hands in her skirt, the dirty, naughty way he made her feel every time he so much as _looked_ at her with those passionate, icy blue eyes.

Howard was forgotten, her wedding was forgotten, and most of all the pain and abuse was forgotten. The horrible feeling of Howard's rough, degrading touch was replaced by Miroku's soft, tender and loving caress. The horrible words Howard would spit out at her when he was angry or drunk were replaced by loving, caring, bittersweet words that she knew could only last for a short time, but also bought her immense happiness.

She lifted her shirt over her head and he kissed her neck once again, his hands traveling to the clasps of her bra. Her back faced the door and she had noticed her stopped.

Sango groaned lazily and peered at him. "What is it?"

"I…I think I heard something." He whispered.

"What?"

"It was probably nothing." He said, waving it off. He kissed her again and pushed her back onto his pillow and kissed the valley between her breasts. Sango closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of him once again. It was definitely something she could live with for the rest of her life.

"Hold it!" A loud voice jarred both of them from her zone and Sango screamed, reaching for a quilt to cover herself up with. Then she realized, she was hiding from her own fiancé.

"Howard?"

Miroku searched frantically around for his discarded t-shirt, but couldn't seem to find it in the dimly lit room. Cold metal jabbed him in the back.

"Don't move another muscle or I'll blow your guts out!" Howard's voice was thick, slurred by whiskey. His clothes smelled of cigars so strongly that it even made Miroku want to gag.

"No! Howard!" Sango screamed out, reaching for his arm.

"Touch me and he dies!" Howard demanded. He jabbed the gun into Miroku's bare back again and he winced. "You thought you were so sly, didn't you? Sleeping with my fiancé?"

Miroku peered back at him, afraid to move a muscle. Inu Yasha's words rang out over and over in his head and he knew now that Howard Bailey definitely had a screw lose.

"He didn't sleep with me!" Sango protested. "We just…were fooling around, he hasn't touched me."

"Lying isn't going to make it any better." He said, raising his voice at her. He slapped her hard against the face and Miroku whirled around, knocking the gun from his hand.

"Touch her like that again, bastard. I dare you!" Miroku reached for the gun, but Howard crushed his hand under his heavy shoe.

He grinned down at him. "She's my woman, I can do what I want with her."

Miroku winced at the pain in his hand as Howard forced all his weight on it. He flattened his palm to protect himself from his hand being broken. "She's not your fucking property!" Miroku's voice was strained as he tried to ignore the agony and numbness shooting up his arm.

"Howard!" Sango cried. "Please, let him go."

"Shut up, bitch!" Howard said, pointing the gun towards her. "If he dies it's all your fault for acting like such a fucking little slut."

Sango was blinded by tears and she curled up into a ball, her nerves were on edge. What had she done? Where was Amber and his mother and father? What happened to everyone?

She gathered her courage to ask. "What did you do with Amber and Mr. and Mrs. Keseki?"

Howard turned towards her for a brief moment and kicked Miroku as he started wriggling. "Amber's over at Nelly's. I sent his parents out to a movie and a nice dinner tonight before I left for Kyoto. It was supposed to be a thank you present for our wedding."

Sango watched as Miroku tried to pull his hand from under Howard's shoe, he wore an expression of pure pain and agony on his handsome face. Something inside Sango snapped and she sat up, keeping the quilt to cover up her skimpily-clad body. "There is no wedding!"

"Oh yes there is." Howard said, something flashed in his eyes. "You will marry me on Saturday or you're little boy toy get his brains splattered all over his nice little room."

Sango burst out into a second wave of tears and Howard laughed sadistically at her distress. "No! Howard! No! Don't hurt him, please!"

Howard stomped his other foot onto Miroku's back and he yelped as the throbbing pain shot through his spine. He could feel Howard pushing all his weight onto his back and he found it hard to fill his lungs with air as Howard pushed on his back. "Marry me, or I'll crush his spine."

"Sango." Miroku rasped out. "Don't say yes, please. Don't sacrifice your happiness for mine." He coughed, which hurt because his diaphragm couldn't move under his weight.

"You shut up, idiot!" Howard bellowed, then turned his attention to Sango. "Well, princess, are you going to agree to be my bride or am I going to have to shoot him dead?" He placed the barrel of the gun to the back of his head. "I would hate for your mommy to have to clean up her own son's brains."

Sango felt a rush of anxiety. "Yes, Howard. I'll marry you, I promise. Just put the gun down."

Howard grinned and finally released his weight off of Miroku. He tucked the gun away in his pocket. "Sango, to our bedroom now." He ordered her than turned to Miroku. "Breath one word of this to your parents or your sister, I'll kill you and then I'll kill them."

Miroku scowled viciously but stayed quiet.

Sango picked up her shirt from the floor and fallowed Howard out of the bedroom, her gaze fixed on Miroku as she left. He stared back at her, clutching onto his right hand trying to get the feeling back into it. Even the pain in his hand would have been more tolerable than the pain in his heart. It was almost debilitating.

He lay backwards onto his bed and smelled the scent of her shampoo and perfume on his pillow. This was the same bed he made love to her for the first time in, the first time he had experienced what true love felt like.

Tears soaked his pillow and he was so numb from emotions he didn't even realize he was crying. So this is what it felt like to lose all hope of ever finding happiness?

***********************************************************************************

"Thanks for letting me stay here." Miroku said, dragging his suitcase into Inu Yasha and Kagome's house. Hideko lay on her stomach on the couch, reading a romance novel. She smiled up at him.

"Hey!"

"Hey Hideko." Miroku said, sighing. "Guess your stuck with me until I go home."

"I wish you could stay longer." Hideko said, sadly.

"Yea, me 2, cuz. But I got work back in the states…I would have left today but my flight is already pre-booked."

Inu Yasha watched him, arms folded. He raised an eyebrow and Miroku became suspicious. "What?"

"Your mother didn't really kick you out, did she?" Inu Yasha questioned.

He sighed. "No."

"I didn't think so. Why don't you tell me the real reason you left your own house?" Inu Yasha said, reclining back on his chair then stared at him with an all-knowing glance.

Hideko gasped and stared at him, her mouth wide-open. "Did you and Sango-chan…" Her novel forgotten.

Miroku chuckled. "Three times."

Inu Yasha scoffed. "Figures. You always did think with your dick rather than your head. I'm surprised your still alive."

He shot him a forced grin. "Trust me, I'd rather be dead. Sango is being forced to marry Howard now. She's in love with me. The only reason I'm still alive is because she's appeasing him to save my life." He paused for a moment. "In three days, she'll be out of my reach forever."

"He hold you at gunpoint or something?" Hideko asked.

"Yes, actually he did." Miroku replied. "You were right Inu Yasha, I should have kept my head on straight.

"Yea, see, you should have listened to me, bozo."

"Then again," Miroku spoke up. "being with Sango has been one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life and I wouldn't trade it for the world."

Inu Yasha glanced at him, astounded. "Wow. Well, hey, if you love her that much maybe you should go fight for her."

And that's exactly what he planned to do.

He waited until late morning of the next day before he knocked on his mother's door. Sango answered and looked quite shocked when she saw it was him. "Miroku…"

"Sango, I want to talk to you." His voice was soft and friendly, comforting and strong.

"Miroku, you shouldn't be here. Howard said he's going to show up uninvited any minute of the day because he doesn't trust me. You really should--"

"Shhh." He placed a finger to her lips and stared into her eyes. "Quiet for a minute. Listen to me."

Sango stared up at him, blinking back tears that were threatening to come through, to show him just how unhappy she really was with her life.

"I'm going to make you an offer. I'm not telling you, you have to take it." He paused to make sure she was listening. "I want you to go to New York with me. We'll leave early Saturday morning and--"

"Miroku!" She shouted. "No! I can't…I…I won't!"

"Why not? Sango, it's the only way we're going to be together." Miroku told her. "We can leave all of this behind…"

"Miroku, just stop. I'm not leaving. This is my home and I'm marrying Howard." She said. "What we had is over forever and we just need to forget about it."

"So, that's it?" He asked. "This was just a fling?"

She looked away from him and tried to ignore the pain that gripped her heart. The man she wanted to be with was right there in front of her and yet she couldn't be with him for fear of his own life. And, then she had other secret. One she wouldn't tell him, ever.

"Yes, Miroku." Sango replied. "We're over."

Miroku stood in the kitchen awkwardly and watched as she once again tried to avoid eye contact. "Do you love me?"

Sango glanced up at him in surprise, but she would have to force herself to lie to him once again. "No." She said, looking away. "I don't love you." She backed away from him and dashed for her bedroom before he could stop her and force her to tell him the truth.


	10. Epilogue

Epilogue

I pulled my suitcase over the threshold of Inu Yasha's house. I was finally headed back home, but I'm not happy about it. Coming back home was a mistake and it ended just how I was afraid it would end.

The cab I had called was waiting outside for me and I peered up at the afternoon sun, beating down on my back as I packed away my luggage in the backseat. "Tokyo airport." I told the driver after slamming the cab door shut.

I watched through the backseat window at the tall buildings, restaurants and parks that passed me by. Every place had a story, every place a memory. Everything in that whole city reminded me of Sango.

Once I arrived at the airport I paid my cab fair and unloaded my luggage. I strode through the glass doors into the big, empty, hallow and echoing airport. It seemed lonely inside, despite all the people that crowded around the ticket desk.

I thought about stepping outside for a cigarette break, I didn't have to board the plane for another hour and a half and my nerves were jumping at the thought of it.

But what good would that have done me? It still didn't change the fact that right about now, Sango was walking down the aisle to become Mrs. Howard Bailey and I was headed back to the United States to continue my life as if nothing had happened between us. As if she hadn't impacted my life at all.

It was a stupid excuse and I pushed it out of his mind. I reached into my shirt pocket and grabbed my ticket for the one way trip back to New York. The long, 18-hour flight back to the United States.

I waited in line for a good 20 minutes before it was my turn to step up to the ticket desk. I was instructed to head for gate 5, my portal back to reality, back to the life I had suddenly grown to hate.

I sat down in the waiting area on a long couch and opened a newspaper. Big mistake. Howard and Sango's wedding was being announced in the extra section and I angrily crumpled the paper up and threw it down on the coffee table, receiving a few startled looks from other patrons.

I gave them a reassuring smile and they turned away from me, thinking I was probably insane.

I leaned back on the couch, set my watch to wake me up in 20 minutes and drifted off to sleep. What else was there to do in an airport?

When I opened his eyes again, it wasn't because my watch had beeped, it was because I felt someone tap my knee. I rubbed my eyes and got my bearings and then I laid eyes on Sango once again.

My heart jumped and I had immediately noticed she was in her wedding gown, the bottom of it dirty with mud and her veil was gone, her gloves were stained black from running mascara.

"Sango…?" I asked, in utter disbelief.

"Miroku!" She shouted, her arms were instantly around my waist and just to hold her that woman in my arms again felt wonderful. I closed my eyes and drank in the soft scent of her hair.

"Sango, what happened? Why aren't you getting married?" I asked.

"I couldn't do it, Miroku." She said, wiping away another black tear that felt from her eyes. I reached into my suitcase and handed her a tissue. She thanked me and wiped her eyes clean of make up. "I realized something," she said after a moment. "I realized I couldn't go through with it, living a life that I'm not happy with."

My watched beeped and I turned it off. "My flight's almost ready…" I said, softly, unsurely.

Sango looked up at me, her brown eyes filling up with tears again as her emotions overtook her once again. "I wish you didn't have to go."

I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked around at the other people watching us. They probably thought I was a jerk because a woman was standing in front of me crying in a wedding dress, but I couldn't worry about that.

"Sango, you said it yourself, we're over forever."

"Miroku, there's something I have to tell you." She told me, and I suddenly felt a mix of panic and excitement rush through me.

"What is it?" I asked, and I knew what she was going to say before she said it judging by the look on her face.

Her ring finger was now bare, her engagement ring was nowhere in sight, nor was it replaced by a wedding ring and that relieved me. She peered up at me with those beautiful brown eyes and my heart melted.

"I'm pregnant." She said.

Those words ripped through me like a wild fire and I suddenly felt dizzy with shock. I sat down on the couch and looked over at her as she slowly sat next to me. There was only one question burning in my mind.

"Is it mine?" I asked, not sure if I wanted to hear the answer. I wondered if she even knew.

Surprisingly, she nodded. She looked pretty confident in her response. "Howard hasn't slept with me since my last cycle. There's no possible way it could be his."

I was elated and I couldn't help but kiss her again, not caring who was watching now. My decision of what I wanted to do with my life was clear and I immediately stood up, gathered my luggage and grabbed her hand.

"Miroku?"

"C'mon, let's go home." I smile at her with a small wink and toss my expensive plane ticket in the trash, not caring about the fact I couldn't get my money back for it.

"But Miroku, what about your job? What about New York?" Sango was asking me and I gave her a very laid-back chuckle and for once in my life I wasn't craving a cigarette. I felt completely care-free.

"I can get another job and we can vacation to New York when our child is older." I told her and I flagged down a cab, getting the same driver that drove me here just an hour before. He gave me a suspicious look but I couldn't have cared.

I rattled off my mother's address and the car bolted forward.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Miroku?"

I gave her a long, passionate kiss before I whispered in her ear softly. "This is exactly what I want."


End file.
